5 Reasons Doctors Prefer Disposable Bipolar Forceps

For years, single-use products have been viewed as the outsider instruments of the medical world, but those days are over. How can disposable bipolar forceps and other disposables now be the surgical darlings? Single-use products are addressing their only drawback and working more diligently than ever to erase their carbon footprint. From recycled paper to fully biodegradable packaging, single-use companies have become even more innovative in their efforts to save the planet. Simultaneously, reusable options haven’t evolved in decades and remain problematic for patient safety.

1. Patient Safety

At the top of the list, and undoubtedly the most important reason to choose disposable surgical instruments, is the safety of the patient. Though there is risk with any surgery, complicated brain surgeries bring their own significant dangers. Risk of infection after a surgery is a dangerous complication that doctors fear even after an immaculate, textbook surgery. Complete instrument sterilization can only be maximized or ensured by using disposable surgical equipment. Single-use surgical instruments are individually packaged and sterilized, reducing the risk of infection.

Alternatively, innumerable issues can occur while using reusable bipolar forceps, including the risk of surgical site infections and patient-to-patient contamination. The fear of complications becomes even more urgent with the recent rise of super bugs and antimicrobial resistance.
After each surgery, reusable bipolar forceps are collected and either processed in-hospital or sent out to a third-party company to be processed and sterilized. During that time, they are cleaned of blood, tissue, and other biological debris. Complex or intricate parts are especially difficult to clean thoroughly. There is the risk of residual material or even rust.

Inevitably, reusable bipolar forceps will suffer from damaged insulation, increasing the risk of tissue damage and patient burns. All reusable bipolar forceps will eventually need repair or replacement. On average, reusable bipolar forceps can be used about a dozen times before needing additional maintenance. However, it’s unknown when exactly they may break.

With each additional use and subsequent reprocessing, the chance of instrument damage or malfunction increases. Instrument ineffectiveness or complete failure during surgery could be disastrous, posing a danger to both the patient and perhaps even the surgeon. Though it may not result in patient mortality, for most medical providers it is an unnecessary and unacceptable danger. In this respect, eliminating this risk is a clear advantage of disposable bipolar forceps as risk management is a crucial consideration for all medical providers, and this is reflected by the trend toward disposables.

2. Economic Concerns

It may seem counterintuitive, but bipolar forceps are less expensive than their reusable counterparts according to numerous surveys. Reusable devices actually cost hospitals more money than disposables in the long run. Though purchasing costs are initially more economical, the full cost is hidden, with extra fees quickly stacking up. An accurate final cost estimate is unpredictable. Cleaning and reprocessing fees, devices lost to wear, labor, utilities, extra time, repairs, and most importantly, patient harm and mortality must be factored into the price.

Risk of cross-contamination for patients can result in regulatory fines, insurance claims, and expensive lawsuits and legal battles. Likewise, reusable bipolar forceps can be used on average 12 times before needing repairs, but malfunction can occur at any time with no guarantee of operational performance or lifespan. Repeated use, cleaning, processing, and reprocessing, sanitizing, and packaging and repackaging may prematurely damage the instruments causing the reusable bipolar forceps to be repaired or discarded.

The cumulative effects of this defect must be considered as well. Hopefully, the malfunctioning or inoperable instrument is discovered before being used by a surgeon in the operating room. The unquantifiable losses to a doctor or hospital’s reputation cannot be measured and the cost of any harm to patients is immeasurable. It may only take a small mistake to lose trust, but it inevitably takes enormous effort to regain it.

“When you’re comparing the cost of single-use instruments to the cost of disposables, you have to look at cost of labor and the sterilization costs of reprocessing instruments. You may think the cost of disposable instruments is more, but when you factor in labor and sterilization, you may very well find that there are actually some savings there,” according to Dr. Robert S. Bailey, Jr., Director of Cataract and Primary Eye Care Service at Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Many retailers will also offer discounts on bulk purchases, lowering the cost of disposable bipolar forceps even further.

A recent study actually found a savings when purchasing disposable bipolar forceps. This student followed about 100 patient biopsies using both reusable and disposable bipolar forceps. 51 biopsies were performed with disposable forceps and 49 used reusable forceps. The study found an average savings of $5.94 when using the disposable bipolar forceps. Illuminatingly, while also being the more expensive option, the reused bipolar forceps were discovered to have “residual patient debris” despite undergoing the re-sterilization process.

3. Environmentally Conscious

Disposable bipolar forceps and other single-use instruments have long been condemned as harmful to the environment. Reusable devices, on the other hand, have been praised as environmentally conscious. While this assumption is incorrect, it’s an understandable mistake – the word “reusable” evokes feelings of conservation and thoughtful nature. In reality, reusable bipolar forceps are highly problematic for the environment, damaging it on multiple fronts: additional waste, fossil fuels, water, chemicals, and electricity to name a few.

The longer lifespan of reusable bipolar forceps means an increase in waste. Once the reusable bipolar forceps are used, the initial packaging is discarded. After the surgeon has finished the procedure, the forceps are decontaminated and transported to a third-party processing company. (Only the largest hospitals perform this cleaning in-house.) There, the instrument is cleaned and sterilized using detergents, chemical disinfectants, specialized equipment, steam production, electricity, and copious amounts of water. They are then repackaged and sent back to the hospital to begin their cycle again. Disposable bipolar forceps, in contrast, can recycled or placed with other chemical waste and add no chemical byproduct to the environment.

4. Increased Efficiency

After every procedure performed with a reusable device, the device must be handled and disinfected to meet certain standards – personnel training for proper handling is required. Because it’s imperative that reusable equipment be cleaned as soon as possible, they must be collected at a rate of daily to weekly, depending on the institution. The reusable instrument then needs to be transported and cleaned (in most cases by a third-party company), re-sterilized and repackaged. This multi-step process creates extra opportunity for damage to occur, and thus extra vetting is completed after every use to determine what may be malfunctioning.  In most cases, these issues will be addressed and repaired.

Reusable bipolar forceps provide roughly a dozen uses before requiring repairs. The process of ongoing repairs and replacements eats further into a hospital or clinic’s day. Additionally, this is a labor and time-intensive endeavor. With understaffing an ever-present problem, forcing double shifts and overworked health workers, there is little excuse to further drain human resources.

5. Convenience

The convenience and peace of mind that disposable bipolar forceps provide cannot be quantified. When a surgeon reaches for an instrument, packaged and sterilized disposable forceps allow procedures to be carried out seamlessly. There is no need to coordinate collection, transportation, and delivery to the third-party reprocessing and sterilization company that may impede operating room or clinic operations. Nor will there ever be a fear of cross-contamination or instrument malfunction during surgery while using disposable bipolar forceps. With so many variables in the operating room, the instruments used should be faultless.

Disposable bipolar forceps are becoming increasingly popular in medical settings due to their convenience and safety. They are designed to be used once, eliminating the need for sterilization and reducing the risk of cross-contamination. Additionally, disposable bipolar forceps are more cost effective than reusable ones as they do not require frequent replacement or maintenance. Furthermore, they provide a consistent level of performance with each use, ensuring that medical professionals have access to reliable instruments when performing delicate procedures. With all these advantages, it is no wonder why disposable bipolar forceps are becoming the preferred choice among healthcare professionals.