Abstract
Objective
The aim of this study was to investigate and compare the technical feasibility, ergonomics, and educational value of the 3D exoscope in comparison with traditional and prism loupes in cleft surgery.
Design
A variety of cleft and pharyngeal operations were performed with the VITOM® 3D exoscope (Karl Storz GmbH, Tuttlingen, Germany), traditional/prism loupes, and microscope. The cervical neck angulation of the operating surgeon was recorded in real-time with an inertia measurement unit system (Mbient, San Francisco, USA) and experiences of the surgeon and assistant were prospectively evaluated with 5-point Likert scales.
Setting
National Health Service, England.
Patients, Participants
Eleven patients were recruited in whom 12 procedures were performed. Two main surgeons, 3 assistant surgeons, and 3 scrub nurses were recruited into the study.
Interventions
Four procedures were performed with the VITOM® 3D exoscope, and as the comparison groups, 5 procedures were performed with normal loupes, 3 with prism loupes, and 2 were done in combination with a microscope and analyzed separately.
Main Outcome Measure(s)
Neck angle measurements and feedback from surgeons, assistants, and scrub nurses.
Results
The VITOM® system improved surgeon ergonomics with reduced procedure time in cervical flexion when compared to the other visualization methods (versus loupes, P < .01, and prism, P < .01). The VITOM® system also scored favorably in terms of image-related fields, ergonomics, and ease of use.
Conclusion
Use of the 3D exoscope in cleft surgery yielded improved experiences for both surgeons, assistants, and nurses in comparison with loupes and microscopes without increasing operating time.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
