Needle in a Haystack: Prevention & Management of Needle Loss During Robotic Surgery

“The best way to manage needle loss- is not to have one,” says Dr. Rajesh Ahlawat, Group Chairman, Institute of Urology & Robotic Surgery for Medanta the Medicity. While no surgeon wants to have one, needles can come loose from where they have been placed, can be lost during a tranfer from surgeon to assistant, or can be lost in myriad other ways.

Dr. Ahlawat takes the Robotic Surgeons Council of India audience through his suggested protocol of how to safely “park” and use needles during robotic surgery- and- if the unfortunate happens, how to retrieve a missing needle. He also briefly describes the loss of a robotic bulldog clamp during a procedure, and how to prevent this from happening. Lecture, with PPT’s, robotic surgery videos & photos, 14:38.