ABSTRACT
The practice of microsurgery demands extensive training along with an abundance of mental and physical energy. Steam autoclaving is the oldest, safest, and most cost-effective method of sterilization in laboratory animal surgery. A healthy animal is important to a successful surgery. A surgeon must develop the ability to concentrate on the visual field, as seen through the microscope, and become familiar with how objects change in their appearance as they are magnified. Commonly used disinfectants such as alcohol, iodophors, quaternary ammonium, and phenolic compounds are not effective sterilants and therefore are not acceptable for sterilization of surgical tools in survival surgical procedures. Ethylene oxide gas was introduced in the 1950s and is an effective, low-temperature chemical sterilization method. The Sterrad system is a hydrogen peroxide gas plasma sterilization system with an operating temperature range of 45°C to 50°C.
