Surgeons call for smaller tools to prevent hand strain

THE Royal College of Surgeons has called on manufacturers to offer smaller medical instruments amid fears singlesize tools can cause practitioners serious discomfort during long operations.

The medical body said companies needed to cater for “our diverse surgical workforce” by “improving the ergonomics and agility of instruments”.

It warned that surgeons with smaller hands might develop repetitive strain injury after using “challenging instruments” during lengthy procedures.

One female surgeon said that poorly designed tools could even prompt practitioners to retire early as a result of the discomfort that can develop in shoulders and wrists after years of use.

Manufacturers say designs for some tools used in keyhole surgery have changed little in the past 30 years.

Hospitals are reluctant to stock smaller tools for the surgery – known as laparoscopy – as they can cost up to four times as much as standard ones.

Daniel Coole, managing director of manufacturer Surgical Holdings, said: “A normal general surgery tool would be around 8in in length. Laparoscopic instruments are a lot longer and it puts a strain on holding that instrument.

“It’s the equivalent of trying to play tennis with a racket three times the size with a handle you can’t hold on to.”

Lisa Massey, a consultant colorectal surgeon at St Mark’s Hospital in London, said: “You can get discomfort injuries in your shoulders and hands from using instruments that are not well designed, ergonomically.

“The effect of that, taken to the extreme, maybe would be one of the things that would prompt the decision to retire earlier.”