Occupational Gonadal and Embryo/Fetal Doses From Fluoroscopically Assisted Surgical Treatments of Spinal Disorders

Abstract

Simulation of lumbar spine fluoroscopy used during surgical treatments of spinal disorders on a humanoid phantom and monitoring of the scattered radiation levels. To assess the potential of adverse effects to progeny due to the preconceptual and embryo/fetal exposure to ionizing radiation resulting from the parental occupational exposure to scattered radiation from lumbar fluoroscopy. There are no available data on embryo/fetal doses resulting from maternal occupational exposure in the orthopedic theater. Besides, studies on staff gonadal doses from fluoroscopically assisted spine surgery are scarce and their results are not generally applicable. Lumbar spine anterior-posterior and lateral fluoroscopy were performed on an anthropomorphic phantom. Scattered radiation within the orthopedic theater was recorded at the staff genitals and waist level. Gonadal, abdominal surface, and embryo/fetal doses normalized to the dose-area-product specific to each projection were calculated. If the annual dose limits of occupational exposure are continuously exhausted for 10 years, the resulting radiogenic risk of congenital malformation in infants born to the orthopedic theater staff will be at least two orders of magnitude lower than the corresponding spontaneous probability. The occupational exposure of the pregnant mother bears a negligible contribution to the risk of hereditary effect on the newborn's progeny compared with the natural incidence rate. Radiogenic genetic and embryo/fetal risks resulting from occupational exposure due to fluoroscopically assisted surgical treatments of spinal disorders are well within tolerance levels provided that rigorous confinement to all pertinent occupational dose constraints is established.