Introduction to the Operating Room
LESSON 3: Safety in the Operating Room
3-15
3-15. NEEDLE AND INSTRUMENT COUNTS
a. Accounting for Needles. The scrub and the surgeon should work cooperatively to make sure that no needle is left in the patient:
(1) Needle counts should be done on a one-for-one basis to the surgeon; that is, the scrub should receive the needle the surgeon has just used before handing him another one. If a needle is broken, both parts must be given to the scrub.
(2) At NO time should there be a free needle (one not on a needle holder) on the Mayo stand or within the operative field.
(3) The scrub should know the number of needles in actual use.
b. Accounting for Instruments. Instrument counts are seldom necessary, unless it is common practice to count them in the state where the Army hospital is located or on cases in which instruments might easily be lost.
