Gravity Is Our Best Friend Yet Can Also Be Our Worst Enemy: Tissue Deformations and Pressure Ulcer Risk on the Operating Table

The biomechanical efficacy of a dressing with a soft cellulose fluff core in protecting prone surgical patients from chest injuries on the operating table

“…Preventing IOA PUs in the operating room (OR) is much more challenging than in other settings, due to the special conditions that apply in the OR setting. In particular, it is not feasible to reposition a patient during surgery, and the support surface needs to be relatively firm and thin to facilitate stability of the patient on the operating table (OT), which is required for surgical precision 7,8 . In addition to these general considerations that apply in any surgical scenario, spine surgeries involve an even greater biomechanical risk to tissue health and integrity, due to the nature of the body support in these specific surgeries.…”

“…In particular, it is not feasible to reposition a patient during surgery, and the support surface needs to be relatively firm and thin to facilitate stability of the patient on the operating table (OT), which is required for surgical precision. 7 , 8 In addition to these general considerations that apply in any surgical scenario, spine surgeries involve an even greater biomechanical risk to tissue health and integrity, due to the nature of the body support in these specific surgeries. The trunk of the proned patients is often supported by the Relton‐Hall frame (RHF) device (Figure 1A ), which consists of four pads (typically covered by foam or gel) that can be tilted medially to fix and stabilise the patient in the proned surgical position.…”