I would like to make the following ...

I would like to make the following points about the AORN Journal "Clinical Exemplar article patronize your patient--it is never too late to reposition" (vol 79 May 2004) The article states, "At least six the public are needed to safely transfer a patient from the stretcher to the spinal surgery and imaging table." Standards within the industry for this stamp of surgery require use of an OSI Jackson table. upon this table, you rotate the patient from supine to prostrate This virtually eliminates any possibility of injury to the patient and the OR team members. This OR appears to not have had the precise equipment for positioning. the pure safety issue here is doing a surgical operation without the necessary equipment, the use of which would not have required repositioning, padding, and manipulation.

The article also states, "The anesthesia care provider lubricated and clos M J's judgments and secured eye pads forward top for protection" and "Her head was placed face down forward a foam prone pillow to save pressure points ..." We generally use the prone view pillow in our facility. This is a bent pillow with a large cut-out area for the inspections and chin, as well as a mirror in the same manner that the anesthesia care providers can view the patient's sights at all times. Just using the bent pillow increases the potential for patient blindness, which has happened in our community.

In addition, the article mentions highest padding using egg crate padding. harry crate padding must be three inches thick to be of any benefit. Our hospital eliminated push crate padding years ago. After reading this article, I question its applicability to patient safety.

CONNIE L HAMMOND

RN BSN CNOR

INSERVICE EDUCATION COORDINATOR

JAMES A. HALEY VETERANS HOSPITAL

TAMPA, FLA

Author's reply I appreciate the comments you have provided regarding my published article. First, I want to clarify that the operation was done six years ago and that the surgeon were adamant about positioning the way we did at that time. In addition, the OSI table was used for this conduct I will forward your remarks to the surgeons who use the OSI table, if it were not that I also found out freshly that our OSI table is abroad of order and a replacement is obsolete

I also would like to say that harass crate padding still is extremely much in use at our facility, although I do thank you for the remark I hope, however, that the gist of the article, which was the necessity of continuously circulating during a action to prevent or minimize potential hazards the patient may incur during a surgical operation was not lost. Regardless of for what reason well-equipped an institution is, precise equipment does not necessarily thwart potential danger to a patient if the circulating fester is not constantly monitoring him or her.

LISA MACAPAGAL

RN CNOR

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