instrument insider
The BD Safety Knife with the BD Xstar Blade
Reviewed by Randall Olson, M.D.

When I was asked to evaluate the single-bevel BD Safety Knife with BD Xstar Blade, I hoped to find a knife that was versatile, easy to use, safe and sharp. The BD Safety Knife with Xstar Blade met and surpassed all the benchmarks I'd set.

The BD Safety Knife comes with a retractable safety shield that protects the blade from damage while protecting the surgical team from sharps injuries.

For example, the BD Xstar Blade is exquisitely sharp for a single-use metal blade, and its single-bevel geometry makes it easy to create either scleral or corneal incisions. Also, because it's a single-use blade it eliminates concerns about blade contaminants such as prion proteins, which have been shown to survive even autoclave sterilization.

The BD Safety Knife has a retractable shield that keeps the blade covered until I'm ready to use it; the shield protects the pristine blade from damage or dings that could render it useless. I found the shield easy to manipulate with just one finger. Using it only adds seconds to a procedure, and it hasn't affected my technique.

The retractable shield is also designed to reduce accidental sharps injuries that can occur during handling or when passing the knife back and forth during procedures. With the very real threat of contracting diseases such as hepatitis C and HIV through accidental cuts, I believe it's essential to reduce exposure to contaminated blades as much as possible. A physical barrier such as BD's retractable shield and the use of disposable blades are both sensible ways to accomplish this.

Altogether, I've found the BD Safety Knife with BD Xstar Blade to be at the "cutting edge" in quality, safety and ease of use.

While testing this blade, I was also able to try BD's "Atomic Edge" silicon blade technology, which will be available for use with the BD Safety Knife late this fall. This technology is intended to bring near-diamond sharpness to single-use blades. I did find the BD Atomic Edge blades to be comparable to diamond blades -- so much so that it was hard to tell the difference.

This new blade technology, combined with the retractable safety shield and the advantages of a single-use blade, will let me create the best possible incisions while protecting my staff from the risks of sharps injuries and eliminating the maintenance burden that comes with multiple use products.

Dr. Olson is director of the Moran Eye Center at the University of Utah and professor and chairman of the University's Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences.