Ideas That Work: Let Patients Comfortably Position Themselves

REDUCED RISK Patients who position themselves are less likely to have pain after surgery.

Let Patients Comfortably Position Themselves

When possible, why not let patients comfortably position themselves before inducing general anesthesia? They'll be better off, and so will the staff members who don't have to lift and position patients who may weigh upwards of 250 pounds.

With shoulder surgeries, we administer the interscalene nerve block in the OR with the patient sitting on the captain's chair or lying laterally on a bean bag. Since the patient is still awake, I can then ask and make sure he is completely comfortable. Then, without moving the patient, I induce general anesthesia with an LMA or an endotracheal tube (depending on the anesthesiologist's preference).

This approach saves staff members from potential back and spine injuries, and saves patients from the discomfort they often later feel in other parts of their bodies as a result of their having been moved and placed in an unnatural position.

Gil Samson, MD
Winthrop-University Hospital Ambulatory Surgery Center
Garden City, N.Y.
[email protected]