[DaveA]

in reply to: Dissection in the dissecting room after CORVID 19 #3324

I thought I should bring people up to date with what is happening at Oswestry. The hospital has approved our plan to hold our FRCS course in October but with restrictions which are in line with what we had suggested. We have to ensure the following:
a) Maximum 12 delegates with compliant social distancing in line with the current Government/NHS guidance (currently at 2m, 1m+ can be done but would require masks to be worn at all times)
b) Move the registration to ARC (Arthritis Research Centre) to reduce footfall in and out of the main building
c) Include food ordering process as part of registration to allow for catering to be supplied to ARC on the relevant days, again to reduce footfall to main building
d) Lunch to be supplied in ARC in line with current guidance which Facilities will be able to advise on
e) Cadaver viewings – all delegates and staff to wear appropriate PPE in line with current guidance due to being within 2m of each other and the potential for bodily fluids.
It should be noted that our building is separate from the rest of the hospital so we are more able to cater safely for our courses.
Dave.

[DaveA]

in reply to: Dissection in the dissecting room after CORVID 19 #3318

Here in the sunny uplands of North Shropshire we have just started giving consideration as to how we can start up again. We are looking at running our October course but there are, of course, certain considerations to take into account. We will reduce our numbers from 30 to 12 and they will be in 2 rotating groups. This will mean 1 or 2 per cadaver. In the seminar room this will mean that we can put social distancing measures in place. We will also have masks and antiseptic fluid.
In the anatomy room we already provide gowns, masks, face shields, aprons and gloves as well as antiseptic fluid etc.
I am currently putting together a Risk Assessment and hope the hospital approves our proposals.

Dave.

[DaveA]

in reply to: Dissection in the dissecting room after CORVID 19 #3317

Here in the sunny uplands of North Shropshire we have just started to think about what we are going to do. We want to get started but safely! We are looking at our course in October. We have decided that we will split the delegates into 2 rotating groups and reduce the numbers from 30 to 12. In the seminar room this will enable social distancing and, with masks, should be safe. In the anatomy room we have always had PPE i.e. gowns, masks, face shields, aprons and gloves.
I am currently putting together a Risk Assessment and then we will see if the hospital approves our plans.

Dave.

[DaveA]

in reply to: Workshops #3269

I have plenty of pots that need restoring and I would be happy to bring them down to Bristol or Birmingham or wherever once the coronavirus emergency is over. I have run a couple of one to one sessions and I am in talks for possibly doing another. Unfortunately, I am not in a position to do more than that.
I have a large number of pots that have still not yet found a home and which will, hopefully, appear on the IAS website at some stage. You are more than welcome to practise on these before I dispose of them.

Dave Adams.

[DaveA]

in reply to: Mould on specimens #2611

Hi Ron,
Are O’Sullivan and Mitchell the authors? What is the title of the paper?
Best wishes,

DaveA

[DaveA]

in reply to: Mould on specimens #2607

Hi Rachel,
You have to remember that what you see are the spore heads but the mycelia from which the spore heads sprout spread deep and wide in the tissue. For that reason it can be very difficult to eliminate. There is also a risk of spread to other materials you hold. If the specimen is not very valuable it is probably best to sacrifice it. If you are determined that it is an important specimen and you want to keep it, firstly keep it isolated, secondly scrape off the mould you can see and, if possible, remove some of the underlying tissue (to deal with the mycelia), thirdly soak for a long time (days or weeks) in a solution containing water, formaldehyde and a few crystals of thymol. To prevent mould (I have not had any for over 20 years) dissolve a few thymol crystals in every solution you use. I used to use phenol but thymol has the same effect and is safer to use. I hope this helps.
DaveA

[DaveA]

in reply to: Measuring phenol levels #1449

Hi Steven,
If you want to give yourself a rough idea if you have a problem with formaldehyde you can use a formaldemeter but, for official purposes, I would always use a specialist company. At our hospital we use a company called Cairn Consulting. As you know, phenol (carbolic acid) can cause dermatitis and burns and the vapours are corrosive to the eyes, the skin and the respiratory tract. The current TWA (Time Weighted Average) is 2ppm. However, to put it in perspective, older colleagues will remember carbolic acid soap, phenol spray is used medically to help sore throat and it is an active ingredient in analgesics such as chloraseptic spray and carmex. If you are a fan of scotch whisky like me you might be interested to know that phenol is a measurable component in the aroma and taste of the distinctive Islay scotch whiskey which has a level of about 30ppm but it can be over 160ppm in the malted barley used to produce whiskey.

[DaveA]

in reply to: The Forum #1423

Hi Carys,
I do use and read Forum articles on a regular basis. I have never looked at our Facebook page because, on a point of principle, I do not use Facebook. If the Forum is removed I will miss out on a great deal.
Best wishes,
Dave.

[DaveA]

in reply to: Formaldehyde legislation #1345

There has been some concern about the current position of formaldehyde. Indeed I was told by our facilities manager last week that there had been movement in this area.

Six years ago we were told that the TLV (Threshold Limit Value) was going to be reduced from 2ppm to 1ppm or less. The IAS worked with the Anatomical Society and the British Association of Clinical Anatomists to draw up a position statement and we then combined forces with the British Institute of Embalmers to put forward our objections to the Health & Safety Executive and the EU. We heard that nothing would be done until a report had been completed by the University of ULM.

It would appear that decisions have been made to the position with regards to formaldehyde but I am currently trying to find out what these are. In the meantime please find attached a document that, hopefully, contains the background information. Bear in mind that it is 6 years old and is part of a consultation we were involved in.

You may be interested to know that the anatomy facility mentioned in the document is ours here in Oswestry.

Attached files

FORMALDEHYDE – BIE.pdf (135.6 KB) 

[DaveA]

in reply to: Embalming #1324

I have not embalmed for nearly 20 years but when I did I discovered, by accident, a useful trick. We used to keep our cadavers in the fridge at 4 degrees centigrade until we could embalm them. On one occasion we had a large number of bequests we had accepted and this produced a backlog so specimens were kept in the firidges longer than we would normally have done. By the time we came to emabalm the last ones we found that although they were in good condition they were solid having been in the fridge for 3-5 days. We gave them time to thaw out and embalmed as soon as we could cut down to the artery.

I should point out that we only used gravity feed for the embalming fluid. We discovered that on all the frozen cadavers that were allowed to thaw slightly there was a ‘sweet spot’ where we could do our cut down but also where the fluid entered the embalming site at great speed. Due to this lucky accident we continued to use the same method very successfully for all subsequent cadavers.

Dave.

[DaveA]

in reply to: Marjorie England #1275

Like everyone else I am totally shocked by the death of Marjorie. As John says I knew her for a long time and had the greatest respect for her. I will try and put some of my thoughts down in writintg and forward them on.

Dave.

[DaveA]

in reply to: Human Bones #1237

Hi Carys,

In the old days you used to be able to get cans of spray that were used to protect the electrics on cars, such as the distributor, from moisture. Once the solvent had evaporated it used to leave a clear plastic finish.

Best wishes,

Dave.

[DaveA]

in reply to: Loan of cadaver #1234

Hi Roos,

We are in Oswestry, Shropshire.

Dave.

[DaveA]

in reply to: methylmethacrylate resin #1218

What does your student plan to do with the bones? Methylmethacrylate resin was used traditionally to block material prior to cutting on a microtome.

[DaveA]

in reply to: EU Biocides Directive Formaldehyde #1190

The response from the Dept of Agriculture confirms my previous view. In addition to the Anatomical Society and BACA perhaps we should also contact the Royal College of Pathologists and the Institute of Biomedical Sciences.

Dave.

[Author]

Posts