Figure 9

Failure of surgical instruments in cutting soft tissue: (a) Intradiscal deeply seated broken surgical blade [130]; (b) Deformation and wear of surgical blade after incising gingival tissue [138]; (c-1) Rust stain on a pair of scissors; (c-2) Pitting corrosion on a retractor[139]; (d) Critical factors for lath martensite failure upon cutting hair [132]; (e) Failure of stainless steel surgical scissor and sucker subjected to multiple use/processing: (e-1) Extensive scratching, black staining including pits in metal (Areas of thick biofilm, many of the pits have biofilm associated with them); (e-2) Large metal defects with continuous biofilm and contaminating soil [135]; (f) Failure of commercial blade and MGTF coated blade; (f-2) Scratches and burrs; (f-4,6) coating peeled off [140]