Are pre-sterilized implants and single-use instrument kits that come boxed and ready to use worth a try? Consider:

• Surgeons get a new and sterile instrument every time. As one manufacturer puts it: One surgery, one box, one company.
• You eliminate the reprocessing risks of hard-to-clean reusable instrument sets because you dispose of the kits after one use.
• Pre-sterilized instrument kits contain only what the surgical team uses, so you'll cut down on waste and save storage space (they're about one-fourth the size of regular trays).
• Some vendors even barcode each package separately so you're only billed for what you use.
• You eliminate delays or cancellations due to wet trays or an overlooked dirty instrument.

As with everything you purchase, cost is a key consideration. While at first glance it might appear that pre-sterilized implants and kits are pricey, when you factor in the time you'll save and the efficiency you'll gain — and when you remove reprocessing and immediate-use steam sterilization from the equation — they could hold real value.

Check out the thumbnail sketches of 7 sterile instrument and implant sets, compiled by the editors of Outpatient Surgery. OSM