drawing surgeons to your facility and increasing their efficiency, these
technologies may also help to improve patient safety. Overall, there's a
pretty basic principle driving these advances — if I can see better, I
can do a better job.
HD is essential for improved images
By far, the most revolutionizing technology for laparoscopy in ORs
today is high-definition video. Most facilities are now equipped with
HD imaging systems, and several are on their "second wave" of equip-
ment as things have become outdated. Besides offering a higher reso-
lution, I believe that HD video has been a huge step forward for
patient safety. While it's not clinically proven, it seems like common
sense that it's easier for a surgeon performing a laparoscopic chole-
cystectomy to confuse the bile duct for the cystic duct when looking
at standard images over HD ones. Ask any physician and you'll hear a
similar story — HD's clearer, crisper images make it easier to cut,
seal, suction, suture and do just about everything else laparoscopical-
ly.
HD systems have become standard in many ORs, but that doesn't
mean they aren't constantly improving. Laparoscopes' designs have
been updated to make them smaller and compatible with 5 mm ports,
and many new scopes feature ergonomic enhancements like single-
hand control. Personally,
I like all-in-one designs where the light cable and camera system are
contained in one unit, since they're easier to use and require less
maintenance. Just like your iPhone camera, their optics are also
improving, with newer models offering better lighting and resolution
than their predecessors.
Scopes are also becoming more specialized. One example is laparo-
scopes that are being made to fit our increasing bariatric patient pop-
ulation. When I first started in the field, performing a laparoscopic
procedure on a bariatric patient meant using instruments that felt too
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