A: The AquaVac may be used for up to 10 surgical cases or one whole day of arthroscopy, and then should be disposed of immediately.

A: The AquaVac may be used for up to 10 surgical cases or one whole day of arthroscopy, and then should be disposed of immediately.

A: The AquaVac will reduce your operating room turnover time and allow for an extra case to be scheduled.

A: The AquaVac provides the surgical team with improved footing and decreases the possibility of slips and falls on an otherwise wet operating room floor, greatly reduces risk of shock from the operating table, and removes contaminated body fluids into a canister where they belong. The AquaVac’s high quality rubber is comfortable for the surgeon to stand on as well.

A: ArthroPlastics will make available a loaner version of the ArthroDistractor for a nominal fee (call for details). This requires a 10-day advance notice before the date of the surgery. Instructions are included and this charge will be credited toward the future purchase of the ArthroDistractor. All we need is a PO number to have the ArthroDistractor in your operating room on a trial basis.

A.  Seven pounds.

A.  Yes.  The mat allows room for all three to stand separately or together on the AquaVac mats, and it continues to function perfectly.

A.  No.  Standing or sitting on the mat does not affect the vacuum process or the suction of fluids from the mat or operating floor.  The mats are constructed to withstand the weight of OR personnel.

A.  Yes.  A stool for sitting or a stool for the surgeon's feet can be placed above the tubing and will not interfere with the vacuum process of fluid removal.

A.  Yes. The mats should be cleaned on both sides with standard hospital OR disinfectant after each surgery.  Although the mats are durable and reusable, they should be replaced as needed or determined by hospital staff.  It is recommended that tubing be replaced after every surgery, as it is a closed channel.  Usually surgery centers dispose of the AquaVac at the end of a busy day or at the end of the week.

A.  No.  Standard OR vacuum systems are compatible with all AquaVac mats.

A.  The AquaVac- 100 is most often used for knee, ankle, elbow and hip surgery.  It is a single mat fabricated from a special compound of high-grade rubber, precision-molded to ensure full contact and water seal with the operating room floor. The AquaVac-S is a double-mat set designed for shoulder surgery.  Two sets with tubing are packaged together.  The AquaVac-ACL is a double-mat set designed for ACL surgery.  Two sets with tubing are packaged together, and it is intended for high volume fluid spills, for example ACL reconstruction surgeries.

A.  There are many advantages which include, but are not limited to, the quality of the materials used, the effectiveness of the mats, the economical benefits from re-useability and OR clean-up, and the 95% absorption effectiveness of fluids.  In addition, the suction mat reduces the potential for staff injury due to a wet operating room floor.  The mats provide for rapid removal of potentially contaminated fluids.  The operating room turn-over time is greatly reduced by limiting the work required to clean and dry the surgical floor between cases.  Usage of the AquaVac mats increases the safety for O. R. personnel and patients.  The mats help to control fluid spills and provides infection control.

A.  The design of the vacuum mat system enables the AquaVac mat to adhere to the floor while continually vacuuming spillage. Warpage of the mat and loss of floor seal limit the AquaVac mat's effectiveness.  When the rubber mat loses plasticizer and stiffens, however, it is time to discard and replace the mat.  Mats should also be replaced when they are dirty.

A.  Yes.  After disinfecting the mats on both sides, they may be stored between surgeries or for future use on a drying rack.

A.   A nearly inaudible suction sound is emitted from the mat as it suctions fluids.  The sound is considered pleasant especially when you consider the dry operating room.

A.  Yes.  The mat side with the system of basins and the tubing is the top side of the mat, and the side of the mat with the open channels is the bottom side of the mat which is placed on the operating room floor.  Placement of the wrong side of the mat on the floor will negatively affect the fluid suction.  The top side of the map is labeled “This side up.”

A.  Yes.  Placing the drapes in such a manner as to direct fluids toward the mat is the most efficient use of the AquaVac mats. The principle is to place the AquaVac where the water falls –not away from it.  In lateral decubitus shoulder arthroscopy, the AquaVac-S is positioned on the anterior and posterior sides.  Drapes can be attached to an IV pole, and water that escapes anteriorly can be released to the AquaVac under the drape through a small incision in the drape that is over top of the AquaVac-S.

A.  Place it where the fluid falls.  Usually place the suction port directly under the back of the knee.

A.  Yes, because the bottom of the AquaVac is open to suction.  Simply drop the mat over the spill that missed the mat, and hear/see it sucked away.

A.   No.  Our group of surgeons and consultants put their chair over the suction connector tubing during surgery.  The OR suction tubing goes up under the OR table.  If the surgeon stands on top of the tubing, the AquaVac will continue to function or stop only momentarily with full suction recovery.

A.  The AquaVac-100 suctions one gallon of fluid from the floor in 70 seconds when fully flooded.