Laproscopic surgery can hurt surgeons

BALTIMORE, Feb. 3 (UPI) -- Minimally invasive surgeries may be harder on the surgeons who perform them, a survey of U.S. surgeons indicates.

Researchers at Baltimore's University of Maryland Medical Center surveyed 2,000 gastrointestinal and endoscopic surgeons and found 87 percent suffer physical discomfort or injuries while performing laparoscopic surgery.

"We face a pending epidemic of occupational injuries to surgeons and we can no longer ignore their safety and health," Dr. Adrian Park, the survey's principal author, said in a statement. "Sadly, it is easier for a surgeon to obtain an ergonomic assessment and direction to improve his golf swing than his posture or movement during surgery."

Laparoscopic surgery uses tiny incisions -- about one-half inch long -- to insert instruments, including a thin, lighted tube with a camera called the laparoscope that lets the surgeon see inside the body.

Operating by looking at a video screen puts the neck in an awkward position for hours, says Park, a laparoscopic surgeon.

"Also, we're standing for extended periods of time with our shoulders up and our arms out, holding and maneuvering long instruments through tiny, fixed ports," Park explained.

The survey results are to be published in the March Journal of the American College of Surgeons.