A Comparison of Pinch Force between Finger and Palm Grasp techniques in Laparoscopic Grasping

Susmitha Wils K,Suresh R Devasahayam,M Manivannan,George Mathew

doi:10.4236/eng.2012.410b012

Abstract

Laparoscopic surgery is a new abdominal surgical procedure which helps the patients in many ways like less hospital stay, faster recovery and reduced pain. The main disadvantage in this surgical procedure is the reduced haptic perception by the surgeons due to the usage of laparoscopic instrument to handle tissues which in turn cause damage of it as compared to an open surgery. The primary aim of this investigation was to compare the pinch force applied during two different methods of laparoscopic grasping: Finger and Palm grasp. A low cost force sensing resistor tailor made for the grasper tip was designed and fabricated for quantifying the grasper tip force in the study. The results indicate more pinch force was applied during palm grasp as compared to finger grasp so as to prevent the slippage of the tissues from the jaws of the laparoscopic graspers.

Highlights

Invasive Surgery (MIS) is a modern surgical procedure, which has made its presence felt since three decades and is slowly replacing the conventional open surgery
The results indicate more pinch force was applied during palm grasp as compared to finger grasp so as to prevent the slippage of the tissues from the jaws of the laparoscopic graspers
Laparoscopic surgery (LS) is one of the Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS) techniques done in the abdomen with 3-4 small incisions through which surgeons insert long handled laparoscopic instruments and laparoscope so as to manipulate the target organ in the abdominal cavity [1,2].The use of long handled instruments leads to reduced haptic perception which in turn may result in excess force being delivered at the target tissue causing unwanted tissue damage

Summary

Introduction

Invasive Surgery (MIS) is a modern surgical procedure, which has made its presence felt since three decades and is slowly replacing the conventional open surgery. Laparoscopic surgery (LS) is one of the MIS techniques done in the abdomen with 3-4 small incisions through which surgeons insert long handled laparoscopic instruments and laparoscope so as to manipulate the target organ in the abdominal cavity [1,2].The use of long handled instruments leads to reduced haptic perception which in turn may result in excess force being delivered at the target tissue causing unwanted tissue damage. Laparoscopic graspers are one of the most indispensable instruments used for grasping the target tissue in any laparoscopic procedure. In palm grasp (Figure 1(a)), the palm of the operating hand rest on the ring of the movable handle with the fingers 2-5 on the fixed hand while in the finger grasp (Figure 1(b)), the thumb will be inside the ring of the movable handle with other fingers on the fixed hand opposing the thumb

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion