Surgeon Postures during Deep Inferior Epigastric Perforator Flap Breast Reconstruction Procedures: A Pilot Study

Tianke Wang, Katherine E. Law, Christin Harless, Minh Doan Nguyen, M. Susan Hallbeck

Research output: Contribution to journalConference articlepeer-review

Abstract

Deep inferior epigastric perforator (DIEP) flap is a surgical procedure using tissue harvested from the abdominal area to reconstruct the breast after a mastectomy. Primary surgical phases include the abdominal flap harvest, chest dissection, and anastomosis. In this study, inertial measurement units (IMUs) were used to measure surgeon upper body postures while performing DIEP flap procedures. Ergonomic risks of musculoskeletal disorders were evaluated using the Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) based on the postures obtained from the IMUs. Joint angles were analyzed using a one-way ANOVA. The neck and back had higher joint angles during the abdominal flap (M=32°, 17°, respectively) and chest dissection (M=31°, 18°, respectively) phases than the anastomosis phase. These high-risk postures may lead to musculoskeletal disorders. Future interventions should focus on improving the postures of the neck and back during the abdominal flap and chest dissection phases of the procedure.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)632-633
Number of pages2
JournalProceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society
Volume64
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 2020
Event64th International Annual Meeting of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, HFES 2020 - Virtual, Online
Duration: Oct 5 2020Oct 9 2020

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Human Factors and Ergonomics

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