Prolonged laparoscopic surgery is associated with an increased risk of vertebral disc prolapse

Abstract

The benefits of laparoscopic surgery to the patient are well recognised, however it is more physically demanding on the surgeon. A survey was sent to members of the British Society of Gynaecological Endoscopy to ascertain musculoskeletal symptoms and vertebral disc prolapse thought to occur as a result of undertaking laparoscopic surgery. A total of 19 (15%) participants were diagnosed with a vertebral disc prolapse, for which one-third needed definitive treatment. There was a statistically significant association with length of practice and numbers of hours worked per week, with the risk of disc prolapse. There was a multitude of other musculoskeletal symptoms reported. These findings suggest that gynaecological laparoscopic surgery carries a high personal health risk to the surgeon, which is likely to increase as the capability and superiority of laparoscopic techniques develop. There is an urgent need to explore further the ergonomic impact of laparoscopic work to enable improvements to be made.

Keywords::

• Ergonomics
• gynaecology
• laparoscopic surgery
• musculoskeletal injuries
• vertebral disc prolapse

Acknowledgements

Our thanks go to Alianu Kingsly, Statistician, Bristol Institute of Technology, University of the West of England, for contributing to the statistical analysis of original data.

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.