Surgical Packs--go cheap or go warranty?

[tigerlady]

Hi all--

I'm 6 final exams away from being a 2nd year (woo hoo!) and we're in the process of ordering our books and supplies for next year.
I'm looking for opinions on surgical packs (and any other recommended buys). We have our surgical course next year and the packs offered to us are expensive, as expected. The top pack is about $350 (Miltex German) and includes a lifelong warranty. I found the same pack on Amazon for about $100 (obviously sans warranty).
Any opinions on equipment in general, or whether it is worth the splurge to go ahead and buy the nice kit with the warranty?

Thanks!

-Another Very Broke Vet Student

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[NStarz]

I would buy the nice kit with the warranty, personally. It's more money upfront, but you have a lifetime warranty, and the instruments are German so they are better quality.

 

[LetItSnow]

I love how everyone just assumes Germans never make anything crappy.

If I ever go into manufacturing, I'm going to slap a "Made in Germany" label on it, find some town called Germany that can handle the manufacturing, and go to town.

;-)

(In my opinion, I'd go cheap until you get a better idea of what you like for instruments. You could spend $350 and find out that oh ... I really don't like that type of needle driver ... and I love castroviejos and now I need to spend lots of cash on those since the clinic I just got hired on at only has mayo-hagers or olsen-hagers.....)

 

[pooter]

Congrats on almost surviving first year! As for the surgical pack, I guess it depends on what you plan on using it for. Are you expected to provide your own packs for real surgeries before you graduate? At my school, the second year surgery course was mostly practicing suture patterns on rubber or felt, so it didn't matter that the instruments were pretty crappy. If you're planning on becoming a surgeon or owning a practice, it might make sense to start investing in quality instruments now, but I doubt it's strictly necessary for school. I hope to have all my future surgical packs provided by my employers, but I'm lazy that way.

 

[twelvetigers]

I love how everyone just assumes Germans never make anything crappy.

If I ever go into manufacturing, I'm going to slap a "Made in Germany" label on it, find some town called Germany that can handle the manufacturing, and go to town.

;-)

(In my opinion, I'd go cheap until you get a better idea of what you like for instruments. You could spend $350 and find out that oh ... I really don't like that type of needle driver ... and I love castroviejos and now I need to spend lots of cash on those since the clinic I just got hired on at only has mayo-hagers or olsen-hagers.....)

I had a classmate that said she would adopt a Hispanic child and name him Castro Viejo Lastname. SMH

 

[tigerlady]

Congrats on almost surviving first year! As for the surgical pack, I guess it depends on what you plan on using it for. Are you expected to provide your own packs for real surgeries before you graduate? At my school, the second year surgery course was mostly practicing suture patterns on rubber or felt, so it didn't matter that the instruments were pretty crappy. If you're planning on becoming a surgeon or owning a practice, it might make sense to start investing in quality instruments now, but I doubt it's strictly necessary for school. I hope to have all my future surgical packs provided by my employers, but I'm lazy that way.

From my understanding..I believe we get to perform our first spays next year on shelter animals. I'm not sure, however, if we are doing multiple surgeries to warrant the expense, but that is a good point! I will try to figure that out from some upper-classmen..

and I also like your thinking about future employers and think that would be ideal!

 

[NStarz]

LOL LIS. In terms of surgical instruments, German >>>Pakistani at least.

 

[Fly Racing]

I'm doubting the need for a "lifetime warranty" on 2nd year surgical tools. If you're still using them 5 years into practice and a couple need replacing, it will cost a lot less than $250. It's the same tools right? I'd maybe value the warranty at $19.99 and still decline it.

 

[Lissarae06]

I didn't have to buy a pack for school but if I would have, I definitely would have gone cheap. Like LIS said, you may spend the money and then find that you don't like the style of certain instruments. Also, what does the warranty cover? Does it cover normal wear and tear, etc?

 

[dvm'08]

Go cheap. There is no reason to buy expensive surgical equipment in your 2nd year.

 

[NStarz]

I stand corrected

 

[LetItSnow]

I stand corrected

Nonsense. You have a legitimate perspective. I mean, I disagree with you, but so what?

 

[tigerlady]

so the price differences range from $250 for an off-brand pack to $350 for the all German high quality pack with a pack offered just like the highest quality but with lower grade towel clips and 40 dollars cheaper. I know these packs are much cheaper than some surgical packs which can be about $1000 but it still seems like a lot of money to me! There is a pack available on amazon for about $80 but there are no reviews and there is not much information listed so it makes me nervous to go that route...so I'm wondering if I should lean towards the $250 or $300...or do you think that buying from amazon is safe enough to spend much less? I'm worried I may get super loose tools that I'll hate if I try to skimp by that much, but I honestly have no idea what to expect! I appreciate all the opinions! they're helping me decide!

 

[bunnity]

I would first find out if you are using these on live animals or not, and then make decisions accordingly - instruments were always provided for anything involving real animals here.

 

[BlackDog17]

I don't know about your class, but ours tends to get scatterbrained sometimes, especially around exam time. And since everyone's stuff looks pretty much the same, things like tools and textbooks often get picked up by the wrong person accidentally and sometimes never make it back to their original owner. For that reason alone, I personally would choose the cheapest kit I could and just plan on upgrading when I got out into practice.

This is also the time of year when fourth years start cleaning out all their stuff. It might be a good idea to ask around and see if anyone has a kit they're looking to get rid of. You may get a good deal on a decent set that way.

 

[NStarz]

So OSU might do a few things differently than other schools. Each surgery group (3 people) needs to rent or purchase one surgical pack between the three of us. Our packs were "designed" by our surgery instructors so we have everything we need. They're about $400, come with free engraving, and a lifetime warranty (and free cleaning/sharpening through the company). They are used for our cadaver and live animal surgeries third year. Some students will rent packs, but the instruments are generally not new (they may have been sharpened recently, but I'm not sure). We don't get instruments provided for us during our surgery course (though they are provided during our 4th year clinical rotations). A lot of students choose to purchase the packs since they come with free engraving, cleaning, and sharpening, and they are from a reputable company.

 

[twelvetigers]

Ours are provided, so we don't need to worry about buying until we graduate.

I wouldn't have been too happy to drop $400 on a surgery pack if I were interested in a clin path residency... lol. I'm not sure why they would make you buy for third year, but I guess every school is a bit different.

 

[NStarz]

Ours are provided, so we don't need to worry about buying until we graduate.

I wouldn't have been too happy to drop $400 on a surgery pack if I were interested in a clin path residency... lol. I'm not sure why they would make you buy for third year, but I guess every school is a bit different.

Yup. Definitely agree. I think that's why they make rental packs an option, and also why you only need 1 pack among 3 people. Though we have a lot of wanna-be-surgeons in my class, so I'm assuming a great many people are purchasing packs.

 

[dyachei]

Buy one from a graduating 4th year. I sold mine 4th year and you really only use it to practice wrapping and for like 1 surgery

 

[jmo1012]

its amazing to hear what the different schools require you to purchase for surgery! we are required to have our own surgical gowns (yay $20 or less investment!). if we want suture instruments beyond the 4th semester surgical skills class, we have to buy those too, but again yay cheap.

 

[Jamr0ckin]

Buy one from a graduating 4th year. I sold mine 4th year and you really only use it to practice wrapping and for like 1 surgery

Did you not have to provide them for your community practice surgery days?

Now, you will do 1-2 surgeries during your surgery course on live, shelter animals. Then, you use them for a few cadaver labs here and there. 4th year you must bring them for your 3 weeks on community practice and if you do the spay/neuter elective.

I bought a nice pack because its what I wanted. Other people bought cheaper packs. Just make sure you have all the required instruments if you get one from Amazon. There are required instruments that must be in your pack.

 

[dyachei]

Did you not have to provide them for your community practice surgery days?

Now, you will do 1-2 surgeries during your surgery course on live, shelter animals. Then, you use them for a few cadaver labs here and there. 4th year you must bring them for your 3 weeks on community practice and if you do the spay/neuter elective.

I bought a nice pack because its what I wanted. Other people bought cheaper packs. Just make sure you have all the required instruments if you get one from Amazon. There are required instruments that must be in your pack.

I didn't have any surgeries on community practice. That being said, it's a good point. There is no point in buying an expensive pack unless you know you're gonna use it after graduation.

 

[tigerlady]

its amazing to hear what the different schools require you to purchase for surgery! we are required to have our own surgical gowns (yay $20 or less investment!). if we want suture instruments beyond the 4th semester surgical skills class, we have to buy those too, but again yay cheap.

We have to buy all our surgical necessities..gowns, caps, gloves, drapes, gauze --a whole pack of goodies, as well as the surgical instrument pack. They also tacked on about ten textbooks which I will not be buying (only "suggested").

Thank you everyone for the wonderful input! It's been very helpful! I wish we had rental options! But..I think I have decided to go with the middle option pack that still has the warranty..it's pricey but it could be much worse. At least I will have it available if I ever do need a surgical pack in the future, but it's not too expensive to not warrant purchasing an even nicer kit in practice if needed, if for some reason I do not like it. And I can try to re-sell it my 4th year if I end up not going into work that will require surgery.

 

[StartingoverVet]

As someone else mentioned... I absolutely would buy the cheapest I could get away with.

You will lose stuff in school.
You will abuse stuff in school.
And you are not likely to want the ones you use in school later on.
When you need "real" stuff, you will want to get the best you can. Not now.

It is not just about the warranty. It is about the materials, and the craftsmanship.

 

[bunnity]

I have been to a lot of private practices and shelters and never ever did the vet provide their own instruments. So I would not take anything post-school into account when buying supplies for school.