부산대학교 도서관

Background: As the popularity of bariatric surgery increases, efforts into improving its patient safety and decreasing its invasiveness have also been on the rise. However, with this shift toward minimal invasiveness, surgeon ergonomic constraints have been imposed, with a recent report showing a 73- to 88-percent prevalence of physical complaints in surgeons performing laparoscopic surgeries. Methods: A web-based survey was designed and sent out to bariatric surgeons around the world. Participants were queried about professional background, primary practice setting, and various issues related to bariatric surgeries and musculoskeletal (MSK) injuries. Results: There were 113 responses from surgeons from 34 countries around the world. Of the responses, 66 percent reported that they experienced discomfort/pain attributed to surgical reasons, causing their case load to decrease in 27.2 percent of the surgeons. The back was the most affected area in those performing open surgery, while shoulders and back were equally as affected in those performing laparoscopic surgery. For those performing robotic surgery, the neck was the most affected area, with 29.4 percent of the surgeons reporting that this pain affected their task accuracy/surgical performance. A higher percentage of female surgeons reported pain in the neck, back, and shoulder area when performing laparoscopic procedures. Supine positioning of patients evoked more discomfort in the wrists, while the French position caused more discomfort in the back region. Only 57.7 percent sought medical treatment for their MSK problem, of which 6.35 percent had to undergo surgery for their issue--55.6 percent of those felt that the treatment resolved their problem. Conclusion: MSK injuries and pain are a common occurrence among the population of bariatric surgeons (66%) and has the ability to hinder performance at work. Therefore, it is important to investigate ways to improve ergonomics for these surgeons to improve quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]