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Laparoscopic surgery in weightlessnessBACKGROUND: Performing a surgical procedure in weightlessness has been shown not to be any more difficult than in a 1g environment if the requirements for the restraint of the patient, operator, and surgical hardware are observed. The feasibility of performing a laparoscopic surgical procedure in weightlessness, however, has been questionable. Concerns have included the impaired visualization from the lack of gravitational retraction of the bowel and from floating debris such as blood. METHODS: In this project, laparoscopic surgery was performed on a porcine animal model in the weightlessness of parabolic flight. RESULTS: Visualization was unaffected due to the tethering of the bowel by the elastic mesentery and the strong tendency for debris and blood to adhere to the abdominal wall due to surface tension forces. CONCLUSIONS: There are advantages to performing a laparoscopic instead of an open surgical procedure in a weightless environment. These will become important as the laparoscopic support hardware is miniaturized from its present form, as laparoscopic technology becomes more advanced, and as more surgically capable crew medical officers are present in future long-duration space-exploration missions.
Document ID
20040173270
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
External Source(s)
Authors
Campbell, M. R.
(NASA Johnson Space Center Houston, TX United States)
Billica, R. D.
Jennings, R.
Johnston, S. 3rd
Date Acquired
August 22, 2013
Publication Date
February 1, 1996
Publication Information
Publication: Surgical endoscopy
Volume: 10
Issue: 2
ISSN: 0930-2794
Subject Category
Aerospace Medicine
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other
Keywords
manned
NASA Center JSC
Parabolic Flight
short duration
NASA Discipline Clinical Medicine
Flight Experiment

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