Surgical Equipment Cleaned With Hydraulic Fluid, Whine Duke Patients

In another example of consumer advocacy run amok, recent patients at two Triangle hospitals run by Duke University Health System have been complaining after they heard that surgical instruments were washed in used hydraulic fluid. The claim is that it would have been more sanitary to wash the instruments in detergent made specifically for that purpose, and not with "a petroleum product called 32 AW manufactured by Exxon that may have picked up particles from its use in the elevator."

Will the whining ever end? Isn't it enough that they got the surgery at all? There is something troubling about the idea of hospitals disposing of hydraulic fluid after only one use. Until consumers can put their own materialistic needs aside, the conservation movement in this country will never take flight. It won't even get on the runway. Heck, it won't even grow feathers or a beak.

The AP spoke recently with an area doctor who performs low-cost surgeries at his home. He said, "32 AW? In order to keep costs down so that I can pass the savings on to my patients, I typically use 5W-30 to clean my surgical instruments. It's a little thicker, but it still gets the job done. Hey, is that thing on?"

Most troubling is the prospect of Congressional involvement. The last thing the medical industry needs is for the government to pass laws prohibiting doctors from cleaning with used hydraulic fluids. What's next? Telling them what silverware can and cannot be used for surgery? Prohibiting surgeons from drinking on the job? Once the laws begin to get passed, they aren't likely to stop. Just look at what happened with traffic laws.