Surgical pearl: a simple means of disarming the "locked and loaded" needle.
BACKGROUND
Surgery, in any setting, has several inherent risks not only to the patient, but the physician and his assistants as well. Safe handling and management of the sharps to prevent inoculation injuries is one of these risks, in particular: 1) instrument hand-off of the needle and needle driver between the physician and his assistants; 2) retrieval of instruments from the surgical tray.


OBJECTIVE
The authors' review a simple means of disarming the needle loaded in the needle driver to reduce sharps injury.


METHODS
Before the needle and needle driver are either handed off to the assistant or returned to the surgical tray, pivot the needle 90 degrees toward the instrument joint. The needle's point should be directed toward and touching the needle driver, and thereby, disarming the needle. To avoid dulling the needle, the point should not be grasped by the needle driver.


CONCLUSIONS
Disarming the loaded needle may reduce the chance of sharps injury during instrument hand off and retrieving instruments from the surgical tray.
Kunishige
Joy
J
Mohs and Derma Surgery Unit, Department of Dermatology, University of Texas-MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA.
Wanitphakdeedecha
Rungsima
R
Nguyen
Tri H
TH
Chen
T Minsue
TM
D004867:Equipment Design; D004869:Equipment Safety; D006801:Humans; D017758:Infectious Disease Transmission, Patient-to-Professional / Q000517:prevention & control; D009339:Needles / Q000009:adverse effects*; D016602:Needlestick Injuries / Q000517:prevention & control*; D017751:Safety Management / Q000379:methods*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013525:Surgical Instruments / Q000009:adverse effects; D013514:Surgical Procedures, Operative / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods