Survey: Minimally Invasive Surgery Causes Surgeons Pain

Feb. 7, 2010— -- Four out of five surgeons agree: laparoscopic procedures cause substantial discomfort and pain for the surgeons who perform them.

More than 80 percent of surgeons completing an online questionnaire reported pain or stiffness in the hands, neck, back, or legs after performing minimally invasive surgeries, according to Dr. Adrian Park, of the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore, and colleagues.

For most symptoms, the strongest predictor was high case volume, the researchers reported online in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.

Park and colleagues warned of "an impending epidemic" of occupational injuries among clinicians specializing in minimally invasive surgeries, as such procedures become more common.

"Now, especially in the face of an impending shortage of general surgeons in the U.S., the last thing that we as a society can afford is surgical careers shortened by occupationally related symptoms and conditions," they asserted.

The researchers recommended more research into the ergonomics of laparoscopic surgery, as well as better implementation of existing guidelines meant to reduce injuries associated with the awkward postures and long surgical times often required with these procedures.

"That research must more clearly and emphatically define the ergonomic impact of minimally invasive surgery on the practicing surgeon (then set about improving it) is now all too painfully clear," Park and colleagues concluded.

The researchers invited some 2,000 board-certified members of the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (of which Park is currently secretary) to complete the online survey.

The response rate was 14.4 percent, with 317 surgeons identified as actively and regularly involved in laparoscopic practices participating.

Of these, 272 reported experiencing physical symptoms or discomfort that they believed were the result of performing minimally invasive procedures.

Pain During Surgery More Common for Doctors

This rate of reported symptoms is markedly higher than that found in earlier studies and surveys, in which the prevalence was in the range of 15 percent to 60 percent, Park and colleagues noted.

They speculated that the current survey, as the most recent, may better reflect the accumulation of injuries over time as surgeons' careers doing minimally invasive surgery have grown longer.

Fortunately, they found, symptoms were generally not persistent. Only 10.8 percent of respondents indicated that pain or discomfort continued beyond the immediate aftermath of surgery.

The largest class of symptoms were those occurring during surgery, with 20.8 percent of surgeons saying they had symptoms only during procedures and 27.8 percent reporting symptoms both during and immediately after surgery.

Another 22.4 percent indicated that symptoms occurred only immediately after surgery and not persistently.

About 15 percent chose "nothing bothers me" in the questionnaire.

Age appeared to be a factor in the incidence of some complaints, although the pattern was not what might be expected. In particular, hand pain was most common among surgeons younger than 40 and in those older than 60, whereas it was least frequent among surgeons in their 50s.

About three-quarters of respondents attributed symptoms to instrument design. Some 40 percent indicated that operating room table setup and the display monitor location were also contributing factors.

On the other hand, more than 180 respondents said they had slight or no awareness of published recommendations on surgical ergonomics, such as guidelines published last year in the journal Surgical Endoscopy.

Among those reporting any level of knowledge about the guidelines, only 60 percent indicated that they had applied it in their practices, Park and colleagues indicated. But more than 90 percent of surgeons who said they had high awareness of ergonomic guidelines reported putting it to use.

The researchers said future studies should address other issues not covered adequately in the survey, such as the effects of different monitor positions and instrument designs, as well as whether surgeon discomfort during laparoscopic surgery leads to adverse patient outcomes.

Park and colleagues also suggested that similar research be conducted on open surgery.