The BeLiteWeight team takes the quality of medical services very seriously. As with all hospitals in the United States and worldwide, some surgical equipment is meant to be sterilized and reused for future surgeries. All of the hospital's reusable surgical equipment are sterilized with the same medical standards and processes as all US hospitals except for disposable equipment which is broken and destroyed after one surgery. All medical equipment used by our surgeons undergoes an extensive multistep sterilization process which includes chemicals, heat, and gas processes, that are verified through both paper and bacterial sensors.
In the folllowing video, one of our top surgeons, Dr. Elmo Aramburo, takes us on a tour through the sterilization area at the Star Medica hospital in Juarez, Mexico. He shows us the actual processes that all reusable surgical equipment undergo for sterilization. (Below the video is a written summary of the process.)
The video begins at the area where the tools are brought in directly after the surgery. It is here where the first stage of sterilization takes place and disinfectant chemicals are used to initially clean the equipment.
During the second stage of sterilization all of the equipment is brought to a different room and examined for defects. The primary purpose of the examination stage is to ensure perfect mechanical functionality of the equipment for future use. All of the tools are inspected for any damages, or signs of wear and tear, during use that could possibly have an effect during surgery.
The third stage, is the packaging and labeling of the surgical equipment. There are two primary steps in each packaging. The first step includes placing heat or gas sensors inside the surgical equipment which test and verify it is sterilized. The next step involves sealing the packages using a special gas or heat sensitive tape which changes color. The purpose of this tape is to differentiate equipment which has gone through the gas or heat sterilization processes from those which have not.
The fourth stage includes the actual heat or gas sterilization processes. Each batch of equipment goes through either a heat sterilization machine or a gas sterilization machine. With each batch of equipment, a sealed vial of live bacteria is placed alongside the equipment as well. This vial serves as a safety sensor. During the heat or gas sterilization processes the bacteria in the vile dies and the liquid changes to a black color. This change in color is a safety check for the effectiveness of the sterilization process.
The next stage of sterilization involves verifying the heat and gas sterilizations were successful. First the tape on the packaged equipment and the vial of bacteria are both checked for color changes. These changes in color serve as proof of proper sterilization and if the liquid or tapes do not change color sufficiently, the process must be repeated.
Only after all of the above stages and steps have taken place is the equipment considered verified sterile and moved in to another room where all sterile surgical equipment is stored until surgery. The last safety check occurs when the packages are opened in the operating room for future use and the sensors inside the packaging are checked for color changes as well.
For more information on our hospitals and procedures such as the Gastric Sleeve please contact BeLiteWeight today!
