Dr. Frank Bakker discusses the key factors that must be considered to ensure the reprocessing of sensitive instruments is performed safely, efficiently and without compromising the integrity of the devices.
Selection of appropriate chemicals must be made a priority, he explains.
Minimal Access Surgery (MAS) via laparoscopy has become the gold standard for some common surgical procedures across multiple surgical subspecialties.1 It has been shown to be as effective as open surgery, but is associated with decreased operative times, smaller incisions, reduced postoperative pain, shorter hospital stays and improved patient satisfaction1 A 2018 report by the Office of Health Economics found that a shift to MAS led to a reduction in the average length of stays for gynaecology patients from 5.5 days to just 1.5 days in 95% of cases.2 However, the utilisation of MAS techniques is highly variable across the United Kingdom (UK), and remains low for many procedures (for example in England less than 25% of hysterectomies are performed using MAS).2
A further innovative development of MAS has been robotic-assisted surgery. Both use small incisions, a camera and surgical instruments. The first robotic procedure was performed in 1985 to conduct a neurosurgical procedure requiring delicate precision. With its success, the first robotic-assisted laparoscopic cholecystectomy was then performed in 1987. Despite these early successes, robotic surgery did not enter the mainstream until 2000 when da Vinci (developed by Intuitive Surgical) was first approved for use by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).1
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