RADIATION EXPOSURE USING A MINI C-ARM IN EXTREMITY ORTHOPAEDIC SURGERY

Abstract

The Mini C-arm has been heralded as a safer means of fluoroscopy. No clinical data on the use of the mini C-arm is available in the literature. The purpose of this study is to compare the exposure in clinical practice between the conventional C-arm and the mini C-arm, and to scrutinize the patterns of radiation exposure.

All operations using the mini C-arm were reviewed. A control group of patients undergoing the identical surgical procedure using the conventional C-arm was used. The Sign test was used to detect the number of exposures taken and the radiation exposure documented.

There were 16 surgical procedures where a valid control was available. The number of exposures performed with the mini C-arm was significantly greater than the conventional C-arm (p=0.05), but the emitted dose of radiation was significantly smaller for the mini C-arm (p 0.001).

The authors conclude that the mini C-arm is a safer device for use in extremity surgery, but that the Surgeon should still be careful to avoid repeated excessive exposures.