I come to you,,,,the great ALLNURSES.COM Community for some info.
We bring our laser's in on a per-case basis. CO2, holmium, green light PVP, etc.
We've worked with one or two local companies for several years and gotten along well. Recently, a new doc asked (sort of) that we use the company that he is accustomed to. He added that he wanted nothing to do with the company we were currently using, by the way.
Anyway, long story short, I'm not sure about these guys.
Day one, they brought in a holmium laser fiber to use for a lithotripsy via cystoscope. They pulled it out of a baggie, and said that we could just "wipe it off with alcohol, that's what everyone else does.":eek:
Their stand was that the fibers need to be "cleaned" or what ever they called it, after each use, and they can't sterilize them.
We didn't do it, demanding a fresh, sterile wrapped fiber.
Now the company and the doc think we're nuts and troublemakers, and we sort of think the same about them!!
Specializes in Operating Room (and a bit of med/surg).
All our fibers are disposable. I think we have a couple old re-usable (sterilized!!) ones kicking around. But NEVER unsterile!
And as for leaving the laser unattended?!?! Huge NO NO! We have RNs trained in lasers, and have our own holmium, CO2, and greenlight lasers. I can't imagine any of them leaving a laser unattended. It wouldn't be allowed! That rep must not value his job at all.
Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.
All our fibers are disposable. I think we have a couple old re-usable (sterilized!!) ones kicking around. But NEVER unsterile!
And as for leaving the laser unattended?!?! Huge NO NO! We have RNs trained in lasers, and have our own holmium, CO2, and greenlight lasers. I can't imagine any of them leaving a laser unattended. It wouldn't be allowed! That rep must not value his job at all.
Same with us. Own our lasers, people have to be signed off/educated to use them. We don't actually turn them on until the surgeon is ready (they are extremely loud!) so that the person assigned to run it can assist the circulator/ run for supplies if necessary. We have both disposable and reusable fibers.
Thanks to you all for your input....I knew I could depend on Allnurses.com!!!!!
You've all brought up questions that have gone thru our minds as well.
One problem, is this "company" is the only one currently that can supply us with the High Power (HP) Green Light laser for prostates.
I really like this laser. Compaired to the old way of doing TUR-P's, with electrocautery, it is great!! Less blood loss, faster, and less time with foley's post op. It's really nice.
Lucky for us, these fibers are one time use, and packaged by the company, so we have no issues.
The rep. tried to tell me the other day that glasses weren't really needed any longer!!! (it's always something with this bunch!!)
I told him, give everyone in the room glasses until he can prove to me in writing otherwise! Even then, I would have to work it thru our P&P Committee, etc. first.
To me this would be a major shake up in the world of laser safety, and I hope that I've not missed it!
maeyken
174 Posts
All our fibers are disposable. I think we have a couple old re-usable (sterilized!!) ones kicking around. But NEVER unsterile!
And as for leaving the laser unattended?!?! Huge NO NO! We have RNs trained in lasers, and have our own holmium, CO2, and greenlight lasers. I can't imagine any of them leaving a laser unattended. It wouldn't be allowed! That rep must not value his job at all.