AORN Journal
Volume 87, Issue 6 , Pages 1156-1172 , June 2008

Safe Positioning for Neurosurgical Patients

  • Danielle St-Arnaud, RN, BSc, CPN(C)

      Affiliations

    • Danielle St-Arnaud, RN, BSc, CPN(C), is a nursing professional development educator for the OR at Montreal Neurological Hospital, Quebec, Canada. Ms St-Arnaud has no declared affiliation that could be perceived as a potential conflict of interest in publishing this article.
    • ,
  • Marie-Josée Paquin, RN, BScN

      Affiliations

    • Marie-Josée Paquin, RN, BScN, is a staff nurse in the OR at Montreal Neurological Hospital, Quebec, Canada. Ms Paquin has no declared affiliation that could be perceived as a potential conflict of interest in publishing this article.

References 

  1. Goodman T . Pressure damage in surgery. July 14, 2005 . http://nursing.advanceweb.com/common/Editorial/Search/AViewer.aspx?AN=NW_05jul14_n2p33.html&AD=07-04-2005 Accessed April 14, 2008.
  2. Rithalia S , Kenney L . The art and science of evaluating patient support surfaces. World Wide Wounds . http://www.worldwidewounds.com/2001/september/Rithalia-and-Kenney/Evaluating-Support-Surfaces.html Accessed April 14, 2008.
  3. Periop 101: A Core Curriculum . Denver, CO: AORN, Inc; 2007;
  4. Recommended practices for positioning the patient in the perioperative practice setting . In: Perioperative Standards and Recommended Practices . Denver, CO: AORN, Inc; 2008;p. 497–520
  5. AORN guidelines for prevention of venous stasis . AORN J . 2007;85(3):607–624
  6. O'Connell P . Positioning impact on the surgical patient . Nurs Clin North Am . 2006;41(3):173–192
  7. Heizenroth PA . Positioning the patient for surgery . In:  Rothrock JC editors. Alexander's Care of the Patient in Surgery . 13th ed.. St Louis, MO: Mosby; 2007;p. 130–157
  8. Ferrara DL . Neurosurgery . In:  Rothrock JC editors. Alexander's Care of the Patient in Surgery . 13th ed.. St Louis, MO: Mosby; 2007;p. 799–862
  9. Winfree CJ , Kline DG . Intraoperative positioning nerve injuries . Surg Neurol . 2005;63:5–18
  10. Schonauer C , Bochetti A , Maraci A , Barbagallo G , Albanese V . Positioning on surgery table . In: Haemostasis in Spine Surgery . Heidelberg, Germany: Springer Berlin; 2005;p. 50–55
  11. Graftieaux JP , Littré F , Gomis P , Malinovsky JM . Interest and feasibility of a modified supine position for posterior cranial fossa surgical procedures [in French] . Ann Fr Anesth Reanim . 2004;23(7):751–754
  12. Kamming D , Clarke S . Postoperative visual loss following prone spinal surgery . Br J Anaesth . 2005;95(2):257–260
  13. Roth S , Tung A , Ksiazek S . Visual loss in a prone-positioned spine surgery patient with the head on a foam headrest and goggles covering the eyes: an old complication with a new mechanism . Anesth Analg . 2007;104(5):1185–1187
  14. Woodruff C , Hemmerling T , English M . Postoperative visual loss after plastic surgery in the prone position: a case report . Can J Anesth . 2007;54:1230–1400
  15. Daley MD . Positioning and the geriatric surgical patient . Today's Surg Nurse . 1997;19(5):13–18
  16. Bambakidis NC , Gonzalez LF , Amin-Hanjani S , et al.   Combined skull base approaches to the posterior fossa . Neurosurg Focus . 2005;19(2):1–9 http://www.aans.org/education/journal/neurosurgical/aug05/19-2-8.pdf Accessed April 14, 2008.
  17. Kim LJ , Klopfenstein JD , Feiz-Erfan I , Zubay GP , Spetzler RF . Postoperative acute sialadenitis after skull base surgery . Skull Base . 2008;18:129–134 http://www.thieme-connect.com/ejournals/abstract/sbs/doi/10.1055/s-2007-991110 Accessed February 20, 2008.
  18. Guarnieri J , Derlon JM , Houtteville JP . The ventrolateral position [in French] . Neurochirurgie . 2004;50(2-3 Pt 1):105–110
  19. Engelhardt M , Folkers W , Brenke C , et al.   Neurosurgical operations with the patient in sitting position: analysis of risk factors using transcranial Doppler sonography . Br J Anaesth . 2006;96(4):467–472
  20. Gale T , Leslie K . Anaesthesia for neurosurgery in the sitting position . J Clin Neurosci . 2004;11(7):693–696
  21. Butler VM , Dean LS , Little JR . Positioning the neurosurgical patient in the operating room: “a team effort.” . J Neurosurg Nurs . 1984;16(2):89–95

  indicates that continuing education contact hours are available for this activity. Earn the contact hours by reading this article and taking the examination on pages 1169–1170 and then completing the answer sheet and learner evaluation on pages 1171–1172.You also may access this article online at http://www.aornjournal.org.The behavioral objectives and examination for this program were prepared by Rebecca Holm, RN, MSN, CNOR, clinical editor, with consultation from Susan Bakewell, RN, MS, BC, director, Center for Perioperative Education. Ms Holm and Ms Bakewell have no declared affiliations that could be perceived as potential conflicts of interest in publishing this article.This program meets criteria for CNOR and CRNFA recertification, as well as other continuing education requirements.AORN is accredited as a provider of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation.AORN is provider-approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider Number CEP 13019. Check with your state board of nursing for acceptance of this activity for relicensure.

PII: S0001-2092(08)00189-0

doi: 10.1016/j.aorn.2008.03.004

AORN Journal
Volume 87, Issue 6 , Pages 1156-1172 , June 2008

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