The required equipment consists of devices often used in a variety of procedures (such as iodine solution, needles and syringes, and lidocaine), as well as the Word catheter, which is used specfically for Bartholin's cysts and abscesses.

Equipment list

 

Word catheter

 

Keyes punch biopsy

Equipment List

1. Sterile & non-sterile gloves

 

2. Iodine solution

 

3. Lidocaine (xylocaine), 1% or 2% solution

25 or 30 gauge, 1 inch needle with 3-5 cc syringe for injecting lidocaine

 

4. Word catheter

 

5. Saline solution for irrigation of abscess and 2-3 cc for inflating balloon

 

6. 20 or 25 gauge, 1 inch needle with 3cc syringe for inflating balloon with saline solution

 

7. Forceps for grasping cyst wall

 

8. No. 11 scalpel or 4-6mm Keyes-punch biopsy

 

9. Gauze pads, 4x4 inch

 

10. Sterile qtips for probing

 

11. GC/Chlamydia culture or genprobe, routine culture

Hemostats to break up loculations

 

12. +/- suture kit (needle driver, 4-0 vicryl suture, forceps, scissors)

The Word Catheter

The Word catheter is made specifically for the treatment of Bartholin's cysts and abscesses. It is made of soft rubber, and has a balloon on the distal end and a self-sealing port on the proximal end. A syringe with a needle is required to inflate the balloon-- there is no Luer-lock adapter that will connect directly with a syringe.

 

 
Keyes Punch Biopsy
The Keyes punch biopsy can be used instead of an 11-blade scalpel to incise the abscess wall. A 4mm punch biopsy instrument, using rotational downward pressure, is used enter the cavity. The advantage of this method is that the hole created is perfectly sized: large enough to admit the Word catheter, but small enough to prevent the inflated catheter from falling out prematurely.
 
 

 

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