Outpatient Surgery Magazine

Manager's Guide to Abdominal Surgery - March 2014

Outpatient Surgery Magazine, providing current information on Surgical Services, Surgical Facility Administration, Outpatient Surgery News and Trends, OR Excellence and more.

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Page 7 Articulating laparoscopes had never been on my wish list. The standard rigid scopes I'd used for years worked just fine. In fact, if I'd had the option, I probably wouldn't have switched. But when we upgraded to a 3D high-definition system, there was no choice: The improved visualization was only available with an articulating scope. And now? Now, there's no way I'd go back to using straight sticks. Here's why. 1. More angles Of course the obvious improvement is that the articulating scope provides a significant range of mobility and a broader field of sight that you can't get with a rigid, non-adjustable laparoscope. The one we use moves 100 degrees in any direction, so you can actually turn it back almost entirely on yourself. Yes, you get some range with a nonadjustable scope. They typically come with a tray and a set of 4 or 5 scopes — so you have a zero-degree option, a 15- degree, a 30-degree, a 70-degree and sometimes a 50-degree option. But the beauty of the flexible scope is that it's all-in-one. There are 2 triggers that allow you to go up and down and side to side. So, for example, you can go 50 degrees left and 30 degrees up at the same time. In other words, you're able to get those kinds of very odd angles that you can't get with traditional scopes. And once you get there, the camera can be locked into place, so it stays exactly where you want it to. 2. Sharper focus The scope's chip-in-tip technology is another big plus. It's like an auto-focus camera, but better, because it never goes out of focus. With the articulating scope we use, it's one piece, so it's completely static. The focal distance is from the tip of the lens to the actual tissue. That means it's completely in focus at all times. As opposed to an auto-focus camera, where you can see the image go from fuzzy to crystal clear, with this technology, there's no tran-

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