Successful airway management can mean the difference between an uneventful surgery and a devastating outcome. “Anesthesia providers need to diligently evaluate...

Most cataract surgeons can remove a cloudy natural lens and implant an IOL in less than 10 minutes, so high-volume ophthalmic facilities thrive by finding ways to...

Angela Francois couldn’t sleep. The painful numbness in her hands was waking her up in the middle of the night on a more consistent basis. She had been experiencing...

Sometimes it takes an unprecedented global event to help facilities refocus their efforts on the basic, tried-and-true protocols that fell by the wayside as pressing issues demanded immediate attention. COVID-19 was...

Less than a decade ago, virtually all spine surgeries were performed on an inpatient basis. The reason for this was much more than an antiquated belief that those who had just had back surgery should be immobilized...

Patients who experience numbness and pain in their hands — the telltale symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome — can opt to have the condition treated with open surgery...

A patient of mine who had undergone previous spine surgeries came to me complaining of hip and back pain. He wasn’t in a position to have another surgery on his back any time soon, so I focused on treating...

Surgical professionals are growing more interested in finding ways to eliminate opioids from the post-op pain management equation and the stakes have never been higher....

Anesthesia providers who dial back the anesthetic gases could save your facility money and go greener. The idea behind low-flow anesthesia is quite simple: Adjusting flows of inhalational agents to a “just right” level of...

Proper medication safety requires surgical leaders to ask some very tough questions. Are employees stealing drugs for consumption or resale? Did a staffer not dilute a drug...

Mr. Smith has been sitting in his hospital gown on a cold stretcher waiting to be brought back for surgery. The 62-year-old glances at the clock on the wall, which reminds him that he has been waiting alone, thanks to the pandemic...

Staff at Vance Thompson Vision, an ophthalmic surgery center in Sioux Falls, S.D., hold the hands of patients who are particularly anxious before they enter surgery. The team is convinced the practice is every bit as effective...

The importance of updated anesthetic techniques has only been magnified with the increase in volume, type and complexity of outpatient procedures. Here are a few key...

When asked about the importance of a personalized approach to post-op pain control, Mike MacKinnon, DNP, FNP-C, CRNA, immediately launches into a story about a patient...

Essential oils are a growing adjunct therapy used to bolster the effectiveness of traditional antiemetics for PONV. A disposable tab containing a combination of ...

Surgery centers are highly dependent on anesthesia services to run productive and dynamic surgical businesses, but maintaining working relationships with quality provider groups has never been more challenging....

Your staff must know how to immediately respond if a patient’s airway catches fire, surgical equipment starts to spark or flames erupt in the sterile field. It’s helpful to designate specific roles for each surgical team member...

When linens were in short supply during COVID-19, staff at Houston Physicians’ Hospital (HPH) struggled to procure enough cotton blankets to keep their patients warm. When they reached out to vendors to try to obtain more...

Asking patients to follow strict NPO restrictions is no longer commonplace — and for good reason. Allowing patients to drink clear fluids up to two hours before their scheduled procedures keeps them hydrated, reduces...

At my most recent full-time clinical role in a hospital, there was a significant issue with post-op infections in patients who underwent colon procedures. We instituted...