Understanding How Patient Safety Restraints Assist Greatly in Surgery

Understanding How Patient Safety Restraints Assist Greatly in Surgery

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Understanding How Patient Safety Restraints Assist Greatly in SurgeryDuring a surgery, it is highly necessary to restrain the extremities of the patients for the sake of their safety. Performing surgery is complicated, and it requires delicacy; even the slightest jerk from the patients can result in disastrous consequences. This is where safety restraints come to the rescue of the patient, and greatly assist the doctors in keeping things under control.

The ability to effectively, comfortably, and more importantly safely restrain patients during a surgical procedure is amongst the best surgical advancements of contemporary times.

How do the restraints help?

So, how exactly do these restraints come handy in patient safety during the surgery? It’s simple; these safety restraint devices help the surgeons to ensue with the operation without any hindrance of the surgical site. They eliminate the risk associated with the movement of any part of the patient’s body, in which case, there could be a serious negative impact.

Apart from this, such restraints keep the extremities of the patient in a convenient position, giving optimum flow of blood in cases of surgeries done for long durations. This can be done by using gel restraints. If the patient extremities are not kept in a comfortable position, major surgeries that take a long time can lead to lack of blood circulation in the toes or fingers, and cause high levels of numbness. They also help in faster recoveries post-surgery, since the patients do not develop post-operative muscle soreness or nerve damage if they are restrained appropriately. Thus, such restraints serve dual purpose.

Different Types of Restraints and Their Usage

Now that you have understood the importance of patient safety restraints in surgery, it’s time to take a look at the various kinds of restraints that are used for differing purposes. To start with, there are individual cuff safety restraints or a single-piece unit that goes across torso and arms together- this kind is used for torso pressure in many surgery scenarios. These are also used for immobilizing the patient during an MRI or X-Ray process, particularly in youngsters.

There is another type, which also happens to be the most preferred one- the Velcro type. This kind of restraint is not only effortless to adjust, but also reusable since it can be laundered after every use. Double-sided Velcro strapping is available as rolls, which can be cut easily to the needed length. This enables the surgical nurses and surgeons to form a restraint loop without hassles.

Wide Velcro straps, also known as operating table straps, are used at the waist of a patient to immobilize arms beside the body effectively, making it easier for the surgeons to do thoracic surgeries.

Specific Uses of Head Restraints

Arm board straps that are specifically designed, help in immobilizing the patient during delicate hand operations and the more conventional nylon rubber straps with a central rubber brand offer clips that lock quickly for quick locking and unlocking.

Many a time, such restraints are also used to restrain the elderly people or sick people to the wheel chairs.

Irrespective of what the practice is, radiology or surgery, it is a worthy investment for every hospital to take a look at the several styles and sizes of patient safety restraints, offered to suit patients of all ages.

Therefore, it’s highly recommended to make use of these restraints during complex surgical procedures to ensure complete safety of the patients, and add to their comfort too. But, the selection must be made depending upon the specific requirements, and each restraint is useful for only a specific need.

Author Bio – Sarah Carrson is a registered nurse who actively participates in seminars related with Patient Safety and Leadership; hoping to be like Dan Bucsko, who was able to share his expertise with the other health care professionals.

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