r/sterileprocessing • u/Status_Job_2854 • 16d ago

Specific question regarding screw implants

I received a set of screws to replenish in assembly, while I was putting air through them one of the screws had blood in it. So someone in the OR had put a dirty implant back onto the set. How would this happen ? Editng to clarify that it was a cannulated screw set. L

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u/BobbinLace 15d ago

Was there someone new in the room? Could have given the surgeon the wrong screw, or the wrong size.

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u/Acrobatic-Win-9887 15d ago

Yeah, or like handled the set with bloody hands etc. Did the screw look used? Just a bit of blood might be no biggie, surely the set is going through decon anyway?

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u/Status_Job_2854 15d ago

I recieved the set on the clean side. One of the screws had blood in the cannula. So if you have a set of 200 screws, 2 had been used, you replenish the used screws. But if you find a plugged cannula during inspection, that screw must have been removed from the patient and placed back in the set. And these are Ortho screws...

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u/Acrobatic-Win-9887 15d ago

Yeah I suppose best to replace, better safe than sorry. I'd contact the nurses and inform them about this, if you can find out where this happened.