Fluoroscopy Duration in Orthopedic Surgery.

OBJECTIVE To ascertain the mean length of radiation emission from fluoroscopic devices during several types of orthopedic surgery and which of these required greater use of radiation. METHODS The times taken to perform sixteen different types of surgery (total of 80 procedures) were measured. At the end of each procedure, the length of time for which fluoroscopy was used directly from the image intensifier was ascertained. RESULTS The mean time required for fluoroscopy per operation was 61 seconds. The procedures that demanded greatest mean duration of radiation use were bilateral proximal femoral epiphysiodesis (5.1 minutes) and femoral shaft osteosynthesis using a locked intramedullary nail (3.33 min). CONCLUSION The mean duration of fluoroscopy use in orthopedic operations was 61 seconds. The procedures using an intramedullary device were the ones that required greatest radiation emission.