Plasma display monitor

During minimally invasive surgery (MIS) a tiny telescope, or laparoscope, is inserted through a very small surgical opening, which allows surgeons to see inside a patient and perform surgical manipulations with as little intrusion to the body as possible. Some operations that used to require a large incision, such as a radical prostatectomy (removal of the prostate gland), are now being performed with as few as three or four small incisions.

The images of the interior of the body during an MIS procedure are transmitted to an video monitor that the surgeon uses to make a diagnosis, visually identify internal features and perform surgery. In addition to the video monitor, the images can be viewed on a large plasma display monitor for the benefit of operating room nurses and anaesthetists as well as medical students and surgeons-in-training assisting in the procedure.

While one of the hospital’s three new MIS suites is already equipped with a plasma display monitor, the MUHC’s vision for the future of the MIS program incorporates the use of these displays, which cost approximately $25,000 each, in all of its MIS suites. This will enhance the understanding and participation of the nurses, anaesthetists, students and residents assisting the 13 MIS-trained and accredited surgeons operating at the MUHC’s adult sites.

This series is intended to be informative. The McGill University Health Centre Foundation does not endorse any particular manufacturer or model of the equipment shown and described here.