Outpatient Surgery Magazine

OR Excellence Award Winners - September 2017 - Subscribe to Outpatient Surgery Magazine

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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• How well can you see the larynx? High-quality video is nice to have, but I think it's a secondary concern. The key is to be able to see the larynx clearly enough to intubate. If you're doing a diagnostic laryngoscopy, you need a high-resolution image; but if you're attempt- ing to intubate, which is likely to be what you'll most often use the scope for, good laryngeal exposure is more important than image quality. There is, however, an advantage to having a larger screen. The more people in the OR who can see the screen, the greater the poten- tial for valuable support. • Blade sizes. If you're handling neonatal, obstetrical and pediatric patients, as well as adults of all dimensions, you'll either need a scope that can handle an appropriately wide range of sizes — which not all scopes can — or multiple scopes that may differ in the ways they're used. In an emergency, you don't want to have to use a scope that requires a technique you're less familiar with. • Channel challenge. Would you prefer a channeled device or a non-channeled device? Channeled devices may be easier to master, but they're also bulkier, because the endotracheal tube is incorporat- ed into the blade. Non-channeled devices let you manipulate the endo- tracheal tube and the laryngoscope independently of each other. But they also require better hand-eye coordination. • Reusable or disposable? Should you opt for a single-use device, a reusable device or something in between? The question hinges on how often you'll use a video laryngoscope. Single-use devices may be relatively inexpensive, but if you use them frequently — which, as noted, I think you should — the cost may rival or exceed that of a reusable scope, or one with reusable components. Plus, your reusable scope may actually last several years. On the other hand, reprocessing a reusable scope takes time — 3 or 4 hours, when you follow manufacturer recommendations. So if cost J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 7 • O U T PA T I E N TS U R G E R Y. N E T • 1 3 3

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