answered the call for help by designing handles that fit the surgeon's
hand better and instruments of different lengths. Thanks to HD optics,
surgeons no longer have to squint to see what's in front of them on the
video monitor.
Sharona B. Ross, MD, FACS, the director of minimally invasive sur-
gery and surgical endoscopy at Florida Hospital Tampa, preaches and
practices perfect ergonomic positioning. Whenever she performs sin-
gle-incision laparoscopy, "everything ergonomically is perfect." For a
gallbladder removal, after she sets the patient in a slight reverse
Trendelenburg, she raises the bed so that her back is not flexed and
she positions the screen at the right height for her neck.
"Adjust the environment to suit your needs," she says. "Ergonomics is
everything. It's your future as a surgeon. If you're not taking care of
your back and neck …"
Before Dr. Ross started paying attention to ergonomics, she needed
a massage twice a month for upper back and neck pain. Now that her
shoulders, arms, neck, back and wrists no longer ache after she leaves
the OR, "I haven't seen my masseuse for months and months."
Laparoscopic procedures are beneficial for patients, and clearly, the
technique is here to stay, but surgeons need to look out for their own
well-being as well.
OSM
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