Maintaining a balance of fluid within the joint space might also limit
the amount of runoff that ends up on the operating room floor. Some
surgeons are more apt to spill fluid than others — the issue is not solely
based on a pump's performance — but the latest technology has the
potential to keep OR floors a little dryer.
Save and share
The ritual of explaining a surgical concept to a patient by drawing a pic-
ture on the exam table paper is long gone. Patients expect to see their
own anatomy when consulting with their surgeons. As arthroscopic
imaging platforms advanced, surgeons were able to take high-resolution
pictures of patients' anatomy and fixation constructs during arthroscop-
ic procedures. However, many platforms still had issues with printing
high-quality images and surgeons had to have a portable means of saving
the printed images or transporting them on a mobile drive.
The new arthroscopic imaging platforms capture even higher quality
images than past generations and let you send the images securely to
mobile devices. They also provide more storage options for
recalling the images for future use. These platforms are making
patient education and data collection much more efficient and benefi-
cial. For example, I can save images or videos captured during sur-
gery and e-mail them to patients or my office, along with annotations
or an audio walkthrough of what the patient is seeing. The images and
videos are powerful tools for explaining the outcomes of arthroscopic
procedures, make patients more informed about their condition and
increase their satisfaction with the care they receive.
OSM
7 6 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • O C T O B E R 2 0 1 7
Dr. Skelley (skelleyn@health.missouri.edu) is an assistant professor in the
department of orthopaedic surgery at the Missouri Orthopaedic Institute in
Columbia, Mo.
