We all have our go-to tools, and in the world of minimally invasive procedures—like my work in interventional radiology—it’s no different. Most IR and Cath labs share a core set of essentials, like 2-inch silk tape, cover caps, and split gauze—the basics. But during my travels across the Southeast, I’ve realized that some of the tools I consider indispensable aren’t as widely used as I’d expect. Here, I’ll share a few of my must-have items for the lab.
3M Steridrape (ref # 9099) - This inexpensive multi tool sterile draping tape helped us to save a substantial sum of money per year. We were prepping Port insertions with 4-6 Tegaderm's per procedure. We found this tape from 3M and have never wanted for another drape tape.
Baxter 125" pressure lines (Ref-1C8296S) - This pressure line is traditionally used in Neuro IR, and (I think) should be used more in body IR. The reason that these lines are great is that they allow you to put the pressure bags all the way at the end of the table. I have seen so many labs that have line sets too short, and they end up with a pole right in front of the reference monitor. This not only defeats the point of the reference monitor, but it also puts the monitor at risk of damage! These Baxter lines are also soft, easy to clear, and they are precise when you are trying to dial in your rate manually.
3M Radial drape (Ref # 1020) - This drape, I'm sure, was intended for other functions (to reduce the size of a femoral drape aperture for a pediatric case) but I have found them to be tremendously helpful in prepping radial cases. When we switched over to using Stratus VIS for femoral and radial cases from *board, we were able to STOP wasting resources on a second radial drape. Now we have the arm by the side, in a regular arm board (Stratus Dovetail) and we place a bump, usually a rolled-up towel, under the wrist. We prep the right femoral and the right radial sites, place the 3M 1020 drape over the radial, and then set the large femoral drape OVER the generous plastic sheet on the 1020. This drape really helps us because it is so much more precise on the radial than the femoral drape. We can easily dodge IV tubing and towels that would sometimes contaminate the area. One more thing, this drape as made the cleanup much better as well! There is rarely any blood on the towel below or in the arm board.
Skin-Prep from Smith+Nephew (Ref# 420400) - This might seem silly, but I know that most people do not use this when prepping for a procedure! I rarely use it while prepping, too, but there are times when it comes in handy! If you have a patient that is diaphoretic, the skin-prep will keep your central line site intact. If you are preparing for a TIPS procedure, and this is my favorite use, I often prep the entire site with a skin prep. This will keep your drape on and there will not be any blood behind the neck after the procedure! Skin-Prep protects intact skin from tape peel injuries and helps keep dressings on. Port a Cath insertion sites are a must before placing your dressing. I know that most healthcare professionals know this, but they just don't use it as often as they should. It's fantastic, try it!
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