Laparoscopic Surgery in Weightlessness

Overview

Journal Surg Endosc

Publisher Springer

Specialties Gastroenterology
General Surgery
Radiology

Date 1996 Feb 1

PMID 8932610

Citations 5

Authors

M R Campbell

R D Billica

R Jennings

S Johnston 3rd

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: Performing a surgical procedure in weightlessness has been shown not to be any more difficult than in a 1g environment if the requirements for the restraint of the patient, operator, and surgical hardware are observed. The feasibility of performing a laparoscopic surgical procedure in weightlessness, however, has been questionable. Concerns have included the impaired visualization from the lack of gravitational retraction of the bowel and from floating debris such as blood.

Methods: In this project, laparoscopic surgery was performed on a porcine animal model in the weightlessness of parabolic flight.

Results: Visualization was unaffected due to the tethering of the bowel by the elastic mesentery and the strong tendency for debris and blood to adhere to the abdominal wall due to surface tension forces.

Conclusions: There are advantages to performing a laparoscopic instead of an open surgical procedure in a weightless environment. These will become important as the laparoscopic support hardware is miniaturized from its present form, as laparoscopic technology becomes more advanced, and as more surgically capable crew medical officers are present in future long-duration space-exploration missions.

Citing Articles

Surgery in the Next Space Missions.

Pantalone D Life (Basel). 2023; 13(7).

PMID: 37511852 PMC: 10381631. DOI: 10.3390/life13071477.

Surgery in Space: Where are we at now?.

Drudi L, Ball C, Kirkpatrick A, Saary J, Grenon S Acta Astronaut. 2013; 79:61-66.

PMID: 23990690 PMC: 3752909. DOI: 10.1016/j.actaastro.2012.04.014.

Prophylactic surgery prior to extended-duration space flight: is the benefit worth the risk?.

Ball C, Kirkpatrick A, Williams D, Jones J, Polk J, Vanderploeg J Can J Surg. 2012; 55(2):125-31.

PMID: 22564516 PMC: 3310768. DOI: 10.1503/cjs.024610.

Should SAGES advance minimally invasive surgery in space?.

Buckland D, Jones D Surg Endosc. 2011; 26(2):293-5.

PMID: 22038168 DOI: 10.1007/s00464-011-1995-4.

Severe traumatic injury during long duration spaceflight: Light years beyond ATLS.

Kirkpatrick A, Ball C, Campbell M, Williams D, Parazynski S, Mattox K J Trauma Manag Outcomes. 2009; 3:4.

PMID: 19320976 PMC: 2667411. DOI: 10.1186/1752-2897-3-4.

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