Some 40% of patients scheduled for orthopedic surgery have low levels of vitamin D that may negatively affect outcomes, a new study finds. Vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium and is essential for optimal bone health and muscle function. Researchers from New York City's Hospital for Special Surgery retrospectively…

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Editor's Note APRIL 2010 OR leaders are striving to make evidence-based decisions about new technology. OR Manager, Inc, and ECRI Institute have joined in a collaboration to bring quarterly supplements with summaries of the Institute's technology assessment reports to OR Manager readers. ECRI Institute is an independent nonprofit organization that…

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Like a car's global positioning system (GPS), computer-assisted surgical navigation helps orthopedic surgeons get their bearings. A navigation system receives and transmits data about joint surfaces and placement of implants, displaying the information on a computer screen where the surgeon can view it. An image from the BrainLab VectorVision navigation…

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Patients having hip replacement surgery can in rare cases develop bone cement implantation syndrome (BCIS). In 5 out of 6 reports of the syndrome received by the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority the patient died from cardiac arrest associated with the implantation of the new prosthesis. Though use of cement for…

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