Outpatient Surgery Magazine, providing current information on Surgical Services, Surgical Facility Administration, Outpatient Surgery News and Trends, OR Excellence and more.
Issue link: http://outpatientsurgery.uberflip.com/i/430472
1 1 1 D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 4 | O U T P AT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E 1. Brightness It's no surprise that physicians who routinely depend on headlights to enhance their view of the surgical site rank the brightness and focus of the illumination as the most important factor in their choice of equipment. The good news is, that still leaves you with a lot of options. "The light intensity and light transmission in almost all the lights available now are very good," says Guy Voeller, MD, FACS, a professor of sur- gery at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis and a former president of the American Hernia Association. In making your purchasing decision, trust the hands-on, eyes-on trial and don't rely too much on marketing materials. "The brightness of light as quantified in lux numbers isn't always an accurate representa- tion," since the light that reflects off of shiny instruments at the site can influence what you see, says Sanford Archer, MD, a professor of oto- laryngology and head and neck surgery at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine in Lexington. Never mind the numbers, Dr. Archer advises. Put the light to the test in real situations, the narrow cavities and the types of cases you'll see. "It's critical to trial headlights at the focal lengths needed," he says. Stephen Cohen, MD, MBA, FACS, FASCRS, who practices at Atlanta (Ga.) Colon and Rectal Surgery and who chairs the department of sur- gery at Southern Regional Medical Center in Riverdale, Ga., agrees. "I always trial headlights on cases where I know it's going to be dark," he says. "In the pelvis, where you're constantly looking around corners, or the anorectum, where the higher you go, the less light there is." 2. Consistency and control In addition to the light's depth of focus, the width of its illumination is important. "You don't want a little beam, you need a wide field of V I S U A L I Z A T I O N