The plunger should be removed from the syringe and the instrument in
two parts should be thoroughly boiled before filling. It should be
scrubbed with soap and water if dirty or corroded before it is dropped
into the boiling water. After boiling for a half hour the barrel of
the syringe which is closed anteriorly, except for the needle opening,
is held up and the melted paraffin poured in until the instrument is
quite full, then the plunger is fitted in and pressed down until it is
possible to assemble the instrument ready for use.
Needles should be boiled. Leather washers when not in use should be
kept in solutions of alcohol.
Preparations for operation, such as sterilizing syringe and needles
should be done hours before operation. If the sterilized loaded
syringe is placed in a sterile towel it may be kept for days and then
before use to insure sterilization it should be soaked in a seventy
per cent solution of alcohol. If a needle is attached to the syringe
when it is thrown in the alcohol solution it will be found that the
paraffin in the syringe will not be affected by the alcohol. The
instrument may be used from the alcohol without even drying it.
Before inserting the needle for the injection of the paraffin start
its flow and observe that the paraffin is escaping from the needle in
a perfectly smooth string.
The same words as to preparation apply when the white vaseline is
used. This agent should always be sterilized by heat before placing it
in the syringe and when syringe and vaseline are sterile the exterior
of the instrument may be re-sterilized at the time of using by alcohol
soaking.
Paraffin in the liquid state may be drawn from a large container
directly into the syringe when the needle has been removed. The needle
may then be screwed in place and the instrument held with the point of
the needle directly upward and pressure made upon the piston until all
air escapes and the liquid paraffin begins to flow. Then the
instrument may be allowed to cool and its contents to consolidate.
Material injected at room temperature.
All these injections are made with the material in the syringe at room
temperature. The syringe may be left filled for days and not heated at
all when the injections are finally made. In mid-winter if the syringe
has been kept in a cold room its temperature may be so low that it may
be advisable to warm it somewhat, but at an average temperature of
seventy degrees Fahrenheit the mixture first described should flow
freely through an ordinary hypodermic needle.