Tech in Surgery Prep / Unit 18 TSC 445 worked example, 60 to 90 seconds
Passing Lines Off the Field
The idea
Suction tubing, electrosurgical cords and similar lines start on the sterile field and are passed to the unsterile team to be connected.
In practice
Follow the hand-off in order. First, the scrub person keeps the sterile end of each line on the field and secures it there with a non-penetrating holder. Second, the other end is passed off the field to the circulating nurse without the scrub person's gloves going below the table edge or beyond the sterile area. Third, the circulating nurse connects it to the suction source or the generator. Fourth, the electrosurgical pencil goes into its holster on the field, not loose on the drapes. Fifth, new smoke evacuator tubing is used for each patient.
Where people slip
The moment a line is passed off is a common moment for a break in technique. Once a line's end has left the sterile field, it is not brought back onto it.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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