The post-it reads “Height of the OR table is important.”
Height of the OR table is important and can be changed for a variety of scenarios.
When a tall person is intubating the patient, the OR table is high.
When a short person is intubating the patient, the OR table is low.
When a tall surgeon is working, the OR table is high.
When a short surgeon is working, the OR table is low.
You with me?
When a patient is on the fracture table or the CHIK table and the hip is being worked on, the table is high. Not only is that for surgeon comfort, but it is also so the C-arm, which is an x-ray machine, can clear the table in order to take pictures.
When a circulator is prepping a patient’s leg, the table should be low. This is for leverage and also changes the fulcrum of the balance of the weight of the leg. This also improves the circulator’s reach to ensure that all the skin is prepped.
I have always known this was important but I didn’t realize that other specialties do this too. Which is odd, because of course they do. I came to this realization when I was in the dentist’s chair going up and down, depending if it was the dentist or the hygienist working on my mouth.
Talk about your flash of the obvious.
Imagine me not even realizing of course it would be the same, even when they are sitting down.
But the number one thing to take home is that after the patient has been moved to the in-patient bed, the head of the bed should never be raised until it has been moved away from the OR table.
Why?
Because I’ve seen OR tables get tipped, a lot of degrees, by the head of the in-patient bed that is being raised.
Heck, I’ve also heard the cysto table groan as an anesthesiologist was raising the head of the patient bed after we moved the patient. And those tables weigh a ton and are not to be moved.
Dispatches from the Evening Shift 