members of the surgical team follow stringent HAND
WASHING(scrubbing) procedures, and wear sterile
gowns and gloves in the operating room. The wide-
spread use of ANTIBIOTIC MEDICATIONShas further
reduced the risk for postoperative infection.
THE SURGERY TEAM
A typical surgery team today includes the
- primary surgeon
- assisting surgeon or physician assistant; may be several
depending on the type of operation - scrub nurse or surgery technician (also called surgical
technologist) - circulating nurse
- anesthesiologist or certified nurse anesthetist
- perfusionist for certain surgeries
Breakthrough Research and Surgical Advances
The last half of the 20th century saw surgery surge
to the forefront of treatment options for numer-
ous health conditions, revolutionizing care as well
as survival for heart disease, cancer, CONGENITAL
ANOMALY, and major trauma. OPEN HEART SURGERY
and ORGAN TRANSPLANTATIONare now conventional
treatment options. Among the most exciting
advances in surgery in recent years has been the
evolution of MINIMALLY INVASIVE SURGERY, operations
that use tiny video cameras to display the opera-
tive site on a monitor similar to a television
screen. The surgeon operates using the display for
visual guidance, much like a sophisticated video
game. Through small incisions, called ports, the
surgeon inserts tiny instruments. Minimally inva-
sive surgery reduces the need for large, open inci-
sions, decreasing patient discomfort and recovery
time. Operations that were once major ordeals
have become fairly minor procedures. Surgeons
look forward to a future in which minimally inva-
sive surgery becomes the standard for nearly all
kinds of operations.Surgery 259