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Published on: December 13, 2017
The effect of operating time on surgeon's hand tremor
Paul S Slack1, Chris J Coulson, X Ma
1Biomedical Engineering Research Group, Aston University, Birmingham, UK. paul.slack@sympatico.ca
Summary
Surgeons experience increased hand tremor during operations, proportional to duration. This finding highlights the need for strategic surgical planning to manage surgeon tremor effectively.
Area of Science:
- Neurosurgery
- Surgical Physiology
Background:
- Surgeon tremor can impact surgical precision.
- The effect of surgical procedures on surgeon tremor is not well-quantified.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of surgical operations on surgeon hand tremor.
- To compare tremor changes during operations versus desk work.
Main Methods:
- Prospective study at two tertiary centers.
- Measured tremor in 10 head and neck surgery consultants, 2 ENT registrars, and 19 controls.
- Intervention: pre/post-operative tremor measurements for surgeons; pre/post-desk work for controls.
Main Results:
- No baseline tremor difference between consultants and registrars.
- All subjects showed increased hand tremor after operating.
- Tremor increase was directly proportional to operating time.
- Operating increased tremor 8.4 times more than desk work.
Conclusions:
- Surgeon tremor increases progressively during operations.
- Complex surgical tasks should be performed early in long procedures.
- Consider surgeon rotation for very long operations to mitigate fatigue-related tremor increase.
