Surgical Tech Tools

A surgical technician is responsible for every tool used in the operating room. He has no specific set of tools but instead must be familiar with every piece of equipment in order to pass them to a surgeon and account for them at the conclusion of the medical procedure. Without a surgical technician's presence in the operating room, surgeries take much longer putting patients at greater risk.

Sterilization Equipment

• A surgical technician is responsible for sterilizing all operating room equipment and disposing of biohazard waste such as surgical sponges and gauze pads. To that end, a surgical technician employs an autoclave to sterilize surgical equipment after it has been hand cleaned, dried and placed in sterilization pouches. A surgical technician also uses detergent solution to clean operating surfaces to guard against the growth of harmful bacteria. Use of these tools must be meticulous in order to ensure patient safety during surgery.

Operating Room Instruments

• Surgical technicians must account for all surgical tools used in the operating room. In that respect it could be said that each tool in the operating room is a surgical technician tool in that he is the member of the operating staff that hands each tool to the surgeon and ensures that all tools are present and accounted for a the end of surgery. This step is vastly important to ensuring patient safety as tools and other equipment such as sponges or gauze could be left inside patients if not accounted for properly.

Suturing Tools

• Surgical technicians often use a needle and thread when closing up a patient after the surgeon finishes the skill portions of surgery. He also uses sterile dressings to stop any bleeding from the suture site and protect the area from infection. Other methods of suturing a surgical entry point can involve use of surgical laser equipment to cauterize the entry incision.