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warming solutions during most cases to improve patient satisfaction and stave off a host of complications, including post-op infections. Ms. Horvath added surgical table mattresses that not only warm patients, but also baffle circulating fluid, which shifts patients slightly throughout procedures to prevent pressure ulcers from forming.
In good hands
The best safety addition to any OR is very mundane, says Dr. Monson, but it refocuses on an essential truth: Surgery is a human dynamic. "The single greatest contributor to surgical safety is the consistency of a team," he explains. "A group of people who work together on a regular basis, who understand what's happening next and know where equipment needs to be for it to happen."
E-mail dcook@outpatientsurgery.net.
