Hospital launches space suit for joint surgery

BANGALORE: The English invented it. The Americans manufactured it. Bangalore is working on excelling in it. The concept is a fully sealed `space suit'' which is meant to be worn by all doctors and technicians present during a surgery in an operation theatre (OT) instead of a regular OT gown.
On Saturday, HOSMAT hospital formally launched the Space Suit concept for its surgeons making it the first in Karnataka to do so.
Surgeons operating in Hosmat''s exclusive Joint Replacement Operation theatre, have been using the space suit for the last three weeks during the course of 30 surgeries. They have found that the infection rate during surgery will soon be reduced to zero from the existing 0.2 per cent during joint replacement surgeries.
The Space Suit consists of a disposable gown made of an impervious material and a helmet made of a material similar to teflon. While the English suit was discontinued primarily because of its weight (10 kg), the Indian version weighs just 350 gm.
The most vital part of the suit is the long lasting helmet mainly since it is responsible for reducing air borne infection to the patient during surgery.
"In Joint replacement surgery, even a tiny bit of infection can be disastrous for the patient. During surgery, the surgeon''s exhaled breath contains particles that can cause infection. To further reduce the infection rate in these surgeries, we decided to import the Space Suit from the US," Hosmat, director and chief of orthopaedics, Dr Thomas Chandy said.
The space helmet has a fan on top which is responsible for bringing in cool air to the surgeon''s isolated environment even as it prevents contaminated air to reach the joint or bone of the patient being operated on.
The helmet operates with the help of a lithium battery which when charged for half hour can work for 8 to 10 hours at a time.
Hosmat has sourced five helmets from US based Johnson and Johnson. For the disposable gowns, it has found an Indian manufacturer.
While the US suit costed Rs 4 to 5 lakh, the two piece Indian suit will cost just about Rs 8,000. "The gown has to be disposed after one surgery. So we will have to keep outsourcing the gowns. But the helmets are long lasting," Dr Chandy said.
The space suit is being compulsarily worn by the three surgeons, one scrub nurse and one anaesthesiologist in the OT at Hosmat. The cost of the surgery to the patient will continue to stay the same despite the new Space Suit being used.