Exam 50: Surgical Asepsis and Assisting With Surgical Procedures

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To protect the package contents, the rules are the following:
•Discard any autoclave paper that is torn or has holes.
•Wrap all hinged instruments in the open position to allow full steam penetration of the joint.
•Place a gauze sponge around the tips of sharp instruments to prevent them from piercing the wrapping material.
•If a number of instruments are to be placed on a stainless steel tray for wrapping, first place a double-folded towel on the tray, then position the instruments.
•Polypropylene is a plastic capable of withstanding autoclaving but resistant to heat transfer; therefore, materials in a polypropylene pan take longer to autoclave than the same materials in a stainless steel pan.
•When using sterilizing bags, insert the jaws of instruments first to ensure that the grasping end of the instrument can be reached easily when the bag is opened.
•When using two-ply autoclave paper, seal the paper with specialized autoclave tape.
•Indicate on the wrapper what is in the package, or label it with a code. This code should correspond to a list of instruments stored with the pack after sterilization.
•Label each pack according to the instrument contents, sterilization date, and your initials. Use a permanent marker, never a ballpoint pen.
•Whether you are wrapping one item or many items together on a tray as a surgical pack, the procedure is the same; be sure the wrapper is large enough to cover the items to be sterilized.