Radiation exposure doses to the surgical team during hip surgery is significantly higher during lateral imaging than posteroanterior imaging: a cadaveric simulation study

Yasuaki Tamaki; Kazuta Yamashita; Daiki Nakajima; Yasuyuki Omichi; Yoshinori Takahashi; Michihiro Takai; Shunsuke Tamaki; Tomohiro Goto; Hiroaki Hayashi; Kosaku Higashino; Yoshihiro Tsuruo; Koichi Sairyo

doi:10.1186/s12995-023-00396-0

Radiation exposure doses to the surgical team during hip surgery is significantly higher during lateral imaging than posteroanterior imaging: a cadaveric simulation study

J Occup Med Toxicol. 2023 Nov 30;18(1):27. doi: 10.1186/s12995-023-00396-0.

Affiliations

¹ Department of Orthopedics, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Tokushima University Graduate School, 3-18-15 Kuramoto, Tokushima, 770-8503, Japan.
² Department of Orthopedics, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Tokushima University Graduate School, 3-18-15 Kuramoto, Tokushima, 770-8503, Japan. kazutayamasita0311@hotmail.com.
³ Department of Orthopedics, Tokushima Municipal Hospital, 2-34 Kitajosanjima, Tokushima, 770-0812, Japan.
⁴ Department of Pharmaceutical and Health Sciences, Kanazawa University Graduate School, Kakuma-Machi, Kanazawa City, Ishikawa, 920-1192, Japan.
⁵ Department of Anatomy, Tokushima University Graduate School, 3-18-15 Kuramoto, Tokushima, 770-8503, Japan.

Abstract

Background: Fluoroscopy is indispensable when determining appropriate and effective interventions in orthopedic surgery. On the other hand, there is growing concern about the health hazards of occupational radiation exposure. The aim of this cadaveric simulation study was to measure radiation exposure doses to the surgical team during hip surgery.

Methods: We reproduced the intraoperative setting of hip surgery using 7 fresh frozen cadavers (5 male, 2 female) to simulate patients and mannequins to simulate the surgeon, scrub nurse, and anesthesiologist. Six real-time dosimeters were mounted at sites corresponding to the optic lens, thyroid gland, chest, gonads, foot, and hand on each mannequin. The radiation exposure dose to each team member was measured during posteroanterior and lateral fluoroscopic imaging.

Results: Radiation exposure doses to the surgeon were significantly higher during 3 min of lateral imaging than during 3 min of posteroanterior imaging at the optic lens (8.1 times higher), thyroid gland (10.3 times), chest (10.8 times), and hand (19.8 times) (p = 0.018, p = 0.018, p = 0.018, and p = 0.018, respectively). During lateral imaging, the radiation doses to the nurse were 0.16, 0.12, 0.09, 0.72, and 0.38 times those to the surgeon at the optic lens, thyroid, chest, gonads, and foot, respectively. The radiation dose to the anesthesiologist was zero at all anatomic sites during posteroanterior imaging and very small during lateral imaging.

Conclusions: Radiation exposure dose was significantly higher during lateral imaging up to 19.8 times comparing to the posteroanterior imaging. It is effective to reduce the lateral imaging time for reducing the intraoperative radiation exposure. In addition, appropriate distance from fluoroscopy resulted in very low exposure for nurses and anesthesiologists. Surgeon should pay attention that surgical staff do not get closer than necessary to the irradiation field.

Keywords: Fluoroscopy; Hip; Occupational radiation exposure; Orthopedic surgery; Radiation.