Do micropauses prevent surgeon's fatigue and loss of accuracy associated with prolonged surgery? An experimental prospective study.

OBJECTIVE: This prospective experimental study evaluates the effectiveness of micropauses (MPs) to prevent muscular fatigue and its deleterious effect on surgeons during prolonged surgical procedures.

BACKGROUND: Operating is a hazard for surgeon's health. Beyond acute injuries and blood-borne infections, back and neck pain is a poorly recognized factor causing chronic ailment in more than half the surgeons surveyed. MP, a 20-second break every 20 minutes, is an accepted strategy used widely in the workplace.

METHODS: We designed a crossover experimental study. Sixteen surgeons were tested 3 times: once in a control situation before any surgery (CTL) and twice after a prolonged, reproducible operation (at least 2 hours), 1 of these with formal MP (WMP) the other without (WOMP). Muscular fatigue was tested by holding a 2.5-kg weight as long as possible with a stretched arm. Accuracy was evaluated with a device, measuring the mistakes made when following a predetermined path on a board. Finally, discomfort was measured by visual analog scale.

RESULTS: We found a statistically and more importantly clinically significant difference between the CTL and WOMP groups in all 3 tests. MPs prevented completely or almost completely the effects of fatigue associated with surgery [accuracy (No. errors) CTL: 1.1, WOMP: 7.7, WMP: 1.7; fatigue (seconds) CTL: 137, WOMP: 92, WMP: 142].

CONCLUSIONS: Surgical procedures are associated with significant muscular fatigue that can be measured simply and which has a direct effect on comfort and surgical accuracy. More important, this effect is completely or almost completely prevented by MPs.