A review of microgravity surgical investigations

The likelihood of performing a surgical procedure in space will increase as the Soviet Mir space station is expanded and the Space Station Freedom becomes operational. A review of previous research and hardware development, performed mostly in parabolic flight both in the Soviet Union and the U.S., reveals an interest in surgical chambers to prevent cabin atmosphere contamination. Surgical techniques appear to be no more difficult than in a 1-G environment if a restraint system is used. Minimizing the changes of wound infection from the high particle count spacecraft atmosphere is an additional concern. Additional research is necessary to delineate the clinical significance of these problems and to further develop surgical techniques in microgravity.