everyone carries trauma shears, but...

TraprMike

TraprMike

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how about the bandage shears. the stainless steel jobies that come in the sets I see advertised along with tweezers.
other then my rule of 2 is one and one is none..
why carry two different kind of scissors?? what can the bandage shears do that the trauma shears can't??

serious question here....
 
Can you please explain to me why some EMTs find it necessary to carry a hemostat? Is there some unnamed purpose I am not realizing in prehospital medicine? Outer whackerdom?

I carried metal bandage shears for a while when I worked in a clinic for short period-- they provided for smoother cutting of gauze, but otherwise I found no functional difference. Trauma Shears are serrated, and beside being cleaned with cancer wipes, versus sterilization (?) for the metal shears, I don't see any difference...?
 
I actually wish I had a hemostat the other week. The RN was turning the ER upside down to try and find one we could take with is. they need to cap off this dudes dual lumen catheter that was leaking blood...
 
exodus said:
I actually wish I had a hemostat the other week. The RN was turning the ER upside down to try and find one we could take with is. they need to cap off this dudes dual lumen catheter that was leaking blood...
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Only there are at least a half dozen less destructive ways to clamp off a line than crimping it with a metal tool. Just saying, a hemostat is not always the best thing for that purpose.

Once, on an extended extrication, I hung an IV bag from a hemostat clipped to the top of the vehicle. Once.
 
emt.dan said:
Trauma Shears are serrated, and beside being cleaned with cancer wipes, versus sterilization (?) for the metal shears, I don't see any difference...?
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My trauma shears say that they are autoclaveable... in different terms of course.
 
LucidResq said:
My trauma shears say that they are autoclaveable... in different terms of course.
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I've actually autoclaved my sheers a few times. Unfortunately, I don't have unfettered access to an autoclave anymore.
 
Lister Bandage Scissors versus trauma shears

BTW, we old guys call 'em "Tetrasnips" from the brand that popularized these inexpensivly made serrated stainless shears with plastic handles by selling them to the Dept of Defense during Nam.

Tetrasnips bring a lot more to the party, you can even open cans with them or sever a quarter if you don't mind ruining them, and if lost you can buy them on clearance at Ace HArdware for $4 sometimes. Lister scissors will not cut clothes, etc., as well.
 
other then my rule of 2 is one and one is none..
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Negative. One is three, three is five, five is four.
 
exodus said:
I actually wish I had a hemostat the other week. The RN was turning the ER upside down to try and find one we could take with is. they need to cap off this dudes dual lumen catheter that was leaking blood...
Click to expand...

that's what small size needle nose pliers are for. A hemostat will just bend on a picc line cap.
 
I would just keep some extra umbilical cord clamps around in case I needed to cut off a line. Just pop it on and you don't have to worry about it, and it can be removed later hopefully without damaging the line.
 
jjesusfreak01 said:
I would just keep some extra umbilical cord clamps around in case I needed to cut off a line. Just pop it on and you don't have to worry about it, and it can be removed later hopefully without damaging the line.
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I just keep an extra EMT around for that. :ph34r:
 
abckidsmom said:
Only there are at least a half dozen less destructive ways to clamp off a line than crimping it with a metal tool. Just saying, a hemostat is not always the best thing for that purpose.

Once, on an extended extrication, I hung an IV bag from a hemostat clipped to the top of the vehicle. Once.
Click to expand...

8jimi8 said:
that's what small size needle nose pliers are for. A hemostat will just bend on a picc line cap.
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Oh no... Not a picc line.

The dude was urinating blood, so there was a dual lumen cath inside his penis so they could have a *big* bag of NS running to flush out the clotted blood, and the other to drain. We couldnt tx the giant bag of NS because there was really no way to, and the ER didn't have the caps for the catheter. So once we unhooked the flush line of the catheter, it backflowed and blood came out.
 
First off...YEOWCH to the dude with the dual lumen cath.

Secondly, I never knew there was a difference in scissors. I guess I have bandage sheers because mine are all metal.
 
Sasha said:
Negative. One is three, three is five, five is four.
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Mycrofft, you shouldn't log into Sasha's profile and post, we can tell when its you ;)
 
emt.dan said:
Can you please explain to me why some EMTs find it necessary to carry a hemostat? Is there some unnamed purpose I am not realizing in prehospital medicine? Outer whackerdom?
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we use them all the time to keep the iv bag from falling off on the way into the ER - clamp the bag to the sheet - other than that....can't really think of anything else, except its a great way to make the nurses in the ER happy when they are looking for one....ditto for trauma shears. i hated the regular bandage scissors - never cut through the gauze very well at all....
 
Yes, Melclin............

Tips on using tetrasnips: turn em upside down (unflanged jaw on the bottom) for fine work, just don't nibble into skin or ears ot whatever. And, although you can buy some fine smaller versions, those are highly pilferable.
The tiny one that come with Zoll defib electrodes by the way are not toys.
 
One thing to keep in mind with trauma sheers.... most providers will use them to cut anything and everything (ie clothes, wires, metal, bandages, etc). How clean are these sheers really?

I bring this up only to provoke thought of cross contamination. It doesn't make sense to use trauma sheers you used to cut a persons chemically contaminated clothes (gas, oil) on one call and than use the same pair to cut a sterile bandage/dressing on another.

So it does make sense to carry two separate pairs... although I don't personally.
 
18G said:
One thing to keep in mind with trauma sheers.... most providers will use them to cut anything and everything (ie clothes, wires, metal, bandages, etc). How clean are these sheers really?

I bring this up only to provoke thought of cross contamination. It doesn't make sense to use trauma sheers you used to cut a persons chemically contaminated clothes (gas, oil) on one call and than use the same pair to cut a sterile bandage/dressing on another.

So it does make sense to carry two separate pairs... although I don't personally.
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Clean them off or throw them out between calls. Most of them are only a few bucks, and your company should provide them free, so you really don't lose anything.
 
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