Abstract
Background
The blood loss associated with arthroscopic surgery has generally been considered to be minimal and not clinically relevant. However, there are currently no data available in the published literature to support this assumption.
Methods
The present prospective study used spectrophotometry of collected irrigation fluid to measure the blood loss associated with a variety of arthroscopic shoulder procedures conducted in 20 patients.
Results
Measured blood loss ranged from 1.22 mL to 36.45 mL. This confirmed that, even in lengthy arthroscopic procedures without a tourniquet, blood loss is minimal.
Conclusions
The results obtained in the present study confirm the presumed advantage of arthroscopic surgery in terms of blood loss, and also confirm that the full range of arthroscopic shoulder surgery can be safely performed, from a haemodynamic perspective, as day case procedures.
Keywords
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