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VIDEO: Surgeons need to consider their well-being on behalf of patients
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LAS VEGAS — At the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Annual Meeting, Baron S. Lonner, MD, chief of Minimally Invasive Scoliosis, Mount Sinai Health system, spoke about musculoskeletal overuse injuries in orthopedic surgeons due to the performance of repetitive and forceful tasks.
“We place hundreds of thousands of screws into the spine per year. Over the course of decades of practice, it begins to have an impact, just as someone who plays tennis or is a laborer and does repetitive work can have injuries,” he said.
Lonner said more ergonomic ways to perform surgery and use of better tools, such as power tools and imaging, monitors and scopes, will not only help extend an orthopedic surgeon’s career, but also make surgery safer and more effective.