Experimental determination of the influence of different droplet protection covers on operating time during mastoidectomy

Introduction Drilling during mastoidectomy (ME) releases large numbers of potentially infectious droplets. A sterile, tent-like enclosure (EH) attached to the microscope, shielding the surgical area can reduce that risk. This paper investigates the effect of different enclosures on operation room (OR) time.

Materials and Methods Three ME test situations were defined: 1) without EH, 2) with partial EH (surgeon's arms under the enclosure, enclosure must be opened when changing instruments), and 3) with full EH (the surgeon’s and OR assistant’s arms and frequently used instruments are under the EH). Three surgeons completed each test situation using MEs on a total of nine human petrous bone specimens. The duration of various activities like drilling, microscope adjustment and instrument change were recorded and evaluated.

Results Total OR times for test situation 1 ranged from 12.5 to 22.6 minutes. Amongst these, 0.7 to 4.2 minutes were spent on coverage-dependent activities such as microscope adjustment and change of instruments. These times increased to 3.8 to 5.7 minutes in test situation 2 (total OR time: + 7 - 27%). In test situation 3, 2.8 to 3.8 minutes were required for coverage-dependent activities. Total OR time increased in two cases (4%; 22%, respectively) and decreased in one (-5%).

Conclusion Complete enclosure of the surgical area with a tent-like cover does not increase the duration of ME significantly in an experimental setup. One can assume that this protection does not lead to a significant increasement in time of surgery and anesthesia in human mastoidectomy with complete EH.

Conflict of Interest

The author declares that there is no conflict of interest.

Publikationsverlauf

Artikel online veröffentlicht:
24. Mai 2022