[Surgery in a plastic air-filled chamber. Current possibilities].

Area of Science:

• Surgical Innovation
• Medical Device Technology
• Infection Control

Context:

• Orthopedic surgery, particularly joint replacement procedures like hip, knee, and shoulder prostheses insertion, carries a risk of surgical site infections.
• Maintaining a sterile field during invasive procedures is critical for patient outcomes.
• Existing aseptic techniques can be prone to breaches, necessitating improved methods for wound isolation.

Purpose:

• To evaluate the efficacy and adaptability of a novel isolating operation chamber for prosthetic joint surgeries.
• To assess the chamber's ability to maintain a sterile surgical field and prevent contamination.
• To determine the practical usability and any adaptation challenges associated with the isolating chamber in clinical settings.

Summary:

• An assessment was conducted on the use of a sterile, inflatable plastic balloon isolating operation chamber in 137 surgical procedures, primarily hip and knee arthroplasty, as well as shoulder surgery.
• The chamber adheres to the patient's skin and is incised with the skin, creating a sealed environment for the surgical wound.
• Sterile air, filtered for complete sterility, maintains inflation, and integrated gloves allow surgical manipulation within the chamber, ensuring a highly isolated operative site.

Impact:

• The isolating operation chamber demonstrated a highly satisfactory level of wound isolation, effectively eliminating faults in aseptic technique.
• While requiring fresh sterilization for each procedure, the device was found to be adaptable and usable without major issues across various joint surgeries.
• This technology offers a promising advancement in maintaining surgical asepsis, potentially reducing surgical site infections in orthopedic procedures.