Needle ankle arthroscopy may decrease OR time without increasing costs
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Key takeaways:
- Results showed a 7-minute difference in turnover time between use of a needle arthroscope vs. regular arthroscope.
- Researchers found no differences in cost between the needle arthroscope and regular arthroscope.
NEW ORLEANS — Use of a needle arthroscope in anterior ankle arthroscopy may decrease turnover time and case duration without increasing costs compared with a reusable arthroscope.
“If a surgeon would like to make either their transition between cases more efficient or the surgery itself more efficient, the NanoScope (Arthrex) offers a way to do that without increasing their costs,” Daniel J. Scott, MD, MBA, associate professor at the Medical University of South Carolina, told Healio about results presented at the Arthroscopy Association of North America Annual Meeting.
Scott and colleagues compared OR time and costs associated with performing anterior ankle arthroscopy with either a 2.7-mm reusable arthroscope (n=19; Arthrex) or a 2-mm disposable NanoScope (n=41).
“We found that the NanoScope was faster as far as operating room turnover, or the time it takes to get the last patient out of the room and the next patient into the room,” Scott said.
In his presentation, Scott noted there was a difference in opening time between the two groups, but it was not statistically significant. He added the NanoScope provided faster time from the incision to the joint space.
“Overall, there was a time savings [with the NanoScope],” Scott told Healio. “It was about 7 minutes for the turnover time and about a minute for the incision-to-joint space time and then a couple of minutes quicker to do the arthroscopy itself.”
Researchers found no statistically significant difference in cost between the reusable arthroscope and the disposable NanoScope when the difference in turnover time was included.
“I was concerned that [the NanoScope] might have been a bit more expensive. There is a higher cost to use the device every single time,” Scott said. “However, for the reusable scope, there is the cost to clean the instrument. The scope only lasts so many uses, then you have to buy a new one and, especially when we factored in that difference in turnover time, that made it so that there was no difference in cost.”
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Scott DJ, et al. Efficiency of ankle arthroscopy with a needle vs. standard arthroscope. Presented at: Arthroscopy Association of North America Annual Meeting; May 4-6, 2023; New Orleans.
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