Cleaning and disinfecting surgical instruments are important along with having them in good working order. Ophthalmic instruments are very delicate and can become damaged during the cleaning and sterilizing process.

To minimize damaging:

1. During the surgical procedure, or right after procedure is done, wipe gross body fluids from the instruments with an instrument wipe moistened with water. This will prevent blood from drying on the instruments that can lead to rusting due to the salinity. Especially on scissors and needleholders where the junctions are found.

2. Keep silicone tip covers on delicate, sharp tipped instruments such as forceps and hooks. This will help prevent bending, barbing, and breaking of the tips. This will also prevent you from getting punctured by a sharp instrument.

3. When storing instruments, keep in mind to place the delicate instruments on top of the heavier ones. This will decrease the chance of bending them and there will be less chance of the sterile packaging becoming damaged.

4. Do not overfill instrument sets. Crowding of instruments will cause them to become misshapen. Multilevel trays work nicely along with rubberized mats to line the trays.

5. Do not use an instrument tray too large for the number of instruments it will hold. The instruments can become jostled during the wrapping process and bang into each other damaging the tips.

Follow the recommended cleaning, disinfection, sterilization and packaging process for the surgical instrument as provided by the manufacturer. Not all instruments are the same. Instruments can become ruined if any one of these is not properly done.