Case Study
A urologist’s story – Dr. Cher
Urologist Dr. Michael Cher, of Karmanos Cancer Institute and Wayne State University School of Medicine, provides his experience with the TrenGuard® Trendelenburg Patient Restraint from D. A. Surgical. His experience demonstrates that setup is fast which saves valuable time, it’s simple to use, and simply put, “It just works.”
Dr. Michael Cher, Chief of Urology at Karmanos Cancer Institute and Chair of the Urology Department at Wayne State University School of Medicine, first encountered TrenGuard at Trinity Health Oakland Hospital in Pontiac, Michigan. Before using it in a procedure, he experienced it on himself.
“At first, I was not familiar with TrenGuard, and I really didn’t have an appreciation for how it worked. So, before I trusted it for my patients, I tried it myself,” said Dr. Cher. “I asked my staff to position me on the OR table in the Trendelenburg position using TrenGuard for support. It felt comfortable.”
Dr. Cher has since performed many more procedures using TrenGuard, primarily for major robotic pelvic surgeries such as robotic radical prostatectomy, robotic simple prostatectomy, and robotic cystoprostatectomy. He then introduced it to the Karmanos Cancer Institute, where it is now regularly used, replacing other Trendelenburg systems.
TrenGuard has become his preferred positioning device for procedures requiring the Trendelenburg position, regardless of where he does surgery.
"Simplifying the setup is a way to stay more focused on the procedure itself. "
One Less Thing To Worry About
According to Dr. Cher, the primary benefit of TrenGuard lies in its rapid and straightforward setup, which typically saves about 10 minutes per procedure when compared with other positioning systems. Dr. Cher stated, “There are numerous causes of surgical delays, and this solution effectively eliminates one of them.”
“For surgeons, there’s a certain type of frustration that sets in when you schedule a start for 7:30 a.m. and the patient isn’t ready to go. Psychologically, having to solve problems and jump through hoops right before starting a surgical procedure can make a surgeon anxious, and we don’t want that. Simplifying the setup is a way to stay more focused on the procedure itself. It’s just one less thing to worry about.”
It's simple, and it works.
Dr. Cher says that he has not experienced any problems with sliding nor patient injuries when using TrenGuard. “I just don’t think about positioning injuries anymore,” he said.
“It’s pretty clever to hold the patient in place in Trendelenburg by putting the weight on the trapezius muscle. TrenGuard holds the body in a neutral position without involving the shoulders, so it takes those joints out of the equation,” he continued.
In addition to being easy to use, TrenGuard also instills confidence with the anesthesiologists as it eliminates the need for abdominal or chest straps, promoting easier ventilation
Spreading the Word
In the context of spreading the word about TrenGuard, Dr. Cher noted, “It can be a process to get new systems like TrenGuard into hospitals, so it helps to have buy-in from the nursing staff. I advocate for TrenGuard because it’s simple, it works, and it speeds up prep time so we have one less thing to worry about during procedures.”
- Patients cannot slide
- No shoulder braces to create pressure on nerve tissue
- Accommodates high BMI
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