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O U T P A T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E | J U N E 2 0 1 5
OR Tables
The right surface will support your patients for many years.
S
urgical tables represent a hefty equipment
investment, from about $50,000 for a gener-
al table to as much as $200,000 for a special-
ty table, but they'll reliably serve your facility for
decades — as long as you choose one that best suits
your needs.
Take the time to research the product field,
because you and your surgical teams will be living
with this purchase for a long time. We've seen
many facilities where disused tables ended up
parked in an equipment graveyard. Here are a few
factors to keep in mind when you're thinking of buying an OR table.
• Functional use. What types of procedures will your case mix bring to
the table? Does your patient population include bariatric and pediatric
patients? For most surgical suites, an all-purpose table that can be
used for a variety of surgeries is a practical choice. Several manufac-
turers offer all-purpose tables that you can configure or accessorize
with additional attachments to better support orthopedic or other spe-
cialties. Radiolucent tabletops would be an efficient consideration for
facilities that rely on intraoperative imaging.
• Weight capacity. Many of the latest surgical tables sport weight limits
of at least 700 lbs., with bariatric specialty tables reaching 1,000 lbs.
An important question to ask when you're evaluating a table is
whether it has full functionality at the upper limit of its weight capaci-
ty. Simply raising and lowering an 800-lb. patient puts much different
demands on a table than placing that patient in Trendelenburg posi-
tion. While every manufacturer will tell you that their table can handle
large patients, you should conduct a trial to verify its full functionality.
T H I N K I N G O F B U Y I N G …
Kelly Spivey and Jolene Lyons, RN, CNOR, CASC
z GATHER ROUND An OR
is not an OR without a table.
