Instrument-marking tapes: an unnecessary hazard.
Instrument-marking tapes facilitate instrument preparation and packaging but can be responsible for increased surgical morbidity by fragmenting into the wound or harboring bacteria when old or damaged. Four cases of submandibular abscess formation and the potential failure of an oro-antral closure were directly attributed to the use of marking tapes.
D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000209:etiology*; D005547:Foreign Bodies / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D013525:Surgical Instruments / Q000009:adverse effects*