Irrigating Wounds with a Fluid Giving Set

We find the described technique of irrigating wounds by inserting a Yankauer sucker into a sterile bag of saline somewhat cumbersome and messy, and therefore employ a simple modification. A sterile blood transfusion giving set is inserted into the port of the fluid bag. The roller valve is rolled upwards to just below the drip chamber, and the tubing cut short at approximately 10 cm. The fluid bag can then be squeezed with one hand whilst retaining control of the rate and direction of flow with the other. Use of a blood transfusion giving set allows a similar maximal flow rate (1.4 l/min), whilst use of a normal fluid giving set is appropriate for smaller wounds with a flow rate of 0.34 l/min.