The Best Qualities of Pediatric Medical Instruments    by Deborah Higgins

Pediatrics is the branch of medicine that specializes and deals with care of infants and children from birth to age 17 or 18. The word pediatrics and its cognates mean "healer of children". Richard E.Behrman in Nelson's Textbook of Pediatrics defines pediatrics as being concerned with the health, growth and development of infants, children and adolescents and their opportunity to achieve full potential as adults.

There are specialized doctors for children because caring for them is distinctly different from caring for adults. Children have unique medical conditions and issues that are not met or experienced by adults. Also, having a different size from adults poses a distinct challenge or situation. There are subspecializations or particular specialties that peds can go into but they need to complete additional residency for that specialty.

Pediatric surgery is a very special specialization involving the surgery of fetuses, infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. Pediatrics surgery still has subspecialties such as anesthesiology, burns, neurology, neonatology, fetus surgery and many more. The same way that there are people who specialized in surgery for children because they pose a unique challenges and issues, the medical instruments for pediatric surgery also have distinct characteristics.

Pediatric surgery has continuously evolved and overtime it has made giant leaps that have helped a lot of infants and children, including decrease in infant death rate from congenital malformation syndromes. Pediatric medical instruments are almost the same instruments that are used for adult surgery. But then of course, these medical instruments have unique and defining characteristics and qualities to make it suited for its pediatric patient.

Flexible/Malleable

While surgical instruments used for adult and pediatric patients are the same, those used for infants and children are made flexible and malleable. This would allow pediatric surgeons more leeway in maneuvering with the least damage in its intrusive procedure. Flexibility of the medical equipment is very much needed since there is a smaller surface area to work on. And with the smaller target surgery area, the more complicated the surgery becomes. One example of this is the tourniquet for pediatric which is made of toothed rack that makes it easier to compress blood vessels in the shortest possible time without requiring too much energy.

Lightweight & Sensitive

Pediatric medical instruments are almost always made lightweight and sensitive to touch no matter what type of surgical procedure is being done. While it is naturally light and sensitive when used for adults, it is more so when it is used for pediatric surgery. Remember that the body, tissues and everything else in a child is smaller and more delicate than in an adult. Theirs is less mature and could easily be damaged. So, from the forceps to the baby Metzenbaum scissors that is delicately curved to Balfour retractors in pediatric version, they are all made smaller, lightweight and truly sensitive to avoid damage. In dental surgery, all medical instruments are also made smaller and thinner to accommodate the child's smaller mouth, roots and tooth features.

Made of Surgical Stainless Steel

Great care is given to surgical or medical instruments especially since these can be cause of infection if not kept clean. Medical instruments are vulnerable to corrosion since they are exposed to oxidizing agents inside the body as well as sterilizing agents once used. And since newly operated patients are vulnerable to infection all instruments for invasive procedures should be sterilized. Since pediatric patients' immune system is way below adults then their sensitivity and vulnerability to infection and risk of exposure is higher. All pediatric surgical instruments must be made from surgical stainless steel. This is high-grade steel designed to hold up the strain of use and processing for sterilization and decontamination done after its use.

About the Author

While taking care of the medical instruments and other hospital equipment,she were pleased also to other clinical professionals who are uniquely qualified to address the medical and emotional needs of the state's most critically ill or injured children.
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