Orthopedic sawblades. A case study

Surgical stainless steel sawblades are frequently used with metal templates at implant surgery, hence there is a high potential for blade damage and suboptimal bone cuts. The authors appraised currently used operating room sawblades with a comparison of their cutting efficacy. There were numerous instances of damage to the cutting teeth surfaces. At a controlled cutting speed, such blades require significantly greater force than unused blades to cut cancellous and cortical samples of bovine bone. Microscopic assessment of cancellous bone specimens cut with damaged blades revealed torn, irregular, debris-filled surfaces. Blades should be inspected for damage after each use and discarded if their condition is in doubt.