How to protect your endoscope

Let’s start this guide to protecting your endoscope with some important definitions. First of all, what is an endoscope? If you’re not familiar, an endoscope is a long tube with lights and a camera attached which your doctor will use to view the inside of a patient’s digestive tract. This can mean any part of the digestive system, from the mouth to the anus. The camera on the endoscope connects to a screen in the surgical room so your doctor can get a good look at what’s going on inside and take steps to leading a patient back to health. At times this requires taking a small biopsy for further tests.

An endoscopic surgery involves the use of an endoscope to diagnose or treat a condition by feeding the endoscope through either a natural body cavity or creating a small incision. This is considered far less invasive than many other surgical methods, and generally means the patient can go home the same day for a far faster recovery.

There are several different surgeries or procedures during which an endoscope comes in handy; for example, a colonoscopy, in which a doctor examines the lining of the large intestine, and possibly the small intestine. Another common procedure is the upper endoscopy, which allows a doctor to examine the esophagus, stomach and first part of the small intestine. Most of the procedures are done with the patient under mild sedation and utmost care is taken to preserve a patient’s comfort during the process.

During these procedures, it’s easy to see how the endoscope requires a thorough cleaning and disinfectant following use. Sterilizing equipment helps to ensure that bacteria won’t be transferred from patient to patient or from the environment to the patient. An improperly cleaned endoscope can suffer from build up or even blockage of its fine and intricate tubing, meaning that the expensive equipment must be replaced. The drying process is also important, and tubes must be completely dry before being stored. As even a clean endoscope can pick up bacteria from its surroundings, it’s equally important that it be stored properly after cleaning and drying.

An EndoSock scope sleeve can be a great way to provide a physical barrier between your scopes and the surrounding environment, it also will wick away any moisture left on the scope after reprocessing. This breathable paper based scope sleeve comes in 2 sizes for use with both large and small endoscopes. It easily slides over the endoscope tube, wiping away any residual moisture and preventing the resulting bacteria growth. The EndoSock protects from potential physical contact and from contact with surfaces and the environment. It conveniently provides a surface for labels in which detailed cleaning instructions or important reference notes can be placed, avoiding the need for placing labels direction onto the scope itself, and allowing for easy transfer onto a patients file or chart. The EndoSock scope sleeve does not need to be tape to the boot, and will easily slide on and off when required.