17 Dec 2015

Surgeons and healthcare professionals worldwide rely on the consistent quality, precision and performance associated with Swann-Morton surgical blades, handles and scalpels. From its manufacturing facility in Sheffield, UK, Swann-Morton produces over 1.5 million surgical blades per day. The current range includes 70 blade shapes and 27 handles that can be used across the various disciplines of general and specialist surgery.

Following the adoption within the UK Hospital sector of the EU Directive on sharps safety the Health and Safety Executive are now starting to review the level of implementation within the Dental Practice and also within primary care settings. The compliant Swann-Morton sterile retractable safety scalpel supports existing safe passing protocols and encourages safe disposal of sharps in the dental practice. Traditionally available in three popular blade shapes 10, 11P and 15 the range has been extended to include larger size blades 20 through 25a. The most recent extension has been the addition of a safety stitch cutter. Each scalpel carries a colour-coded slider for ease of recognition of blade shape set into a high visibility red body.

With today's Dentist carrying out more specialized surgical procedures in areas such as Periodontics, Implantology and Bone Grafting and with a recognized shortage of trained nurses who are familiar with such complex techniques, the retractable disposable scalpel can assist in minimizing the incidence of accidental sharp’s injuries. Even during routine day to day surgery such as the raising of a flap for a root removal or a simple Frenectomy, the threat of a career ending sharp’s related injury is still present, so the retractable disposable scalpel can perform an important function within the overall CIC protocols of the practice.

Further supporting products include the single use sterile blade remover which compliments the safety scalpel by assisting the Dental team in the safe removal of a contaminated surgical blade from the traditional metal surgical handles.
The recently launched Cygnetic range of blades combines a thicker stainless steel blade with a special innovative handle which grips the blade firmly on both sides providing additional lateral strength when incising in and around bone. The blades can be placed into the handle and are locked into position with a simple lever mechanism. After use the contaminated blade can be can dropped into a sharps container without further handling and risk of sharps related injuries. After the procedure the handle can be disassembled for cleaning and then reassembled so it may be sterilized ready for the next patient.

The New “KLEEN” all-in-one Blade Management System incorporates a quality Swann-Morton blade and is designed to operate with most standard surgical handles already in the circulation within Dental practice thus minimising disruption and cost during the conversion process. The system comprises two injection moulded plastic parts which encapsulates a standard blade and protects surgical staff from sustaining a potential sharps injury whilst attaching or removing the blade from a handle.

For additional information or training on Swann-Morton’s Safety products visit our website at www.swann-morton.com or contact our Customer Support Manager Adrian Glossop on (0114) 2344321 or email: aglossop@swann-morton.com