A survey sent to 3,314 plastic surgeons (865 responded) in the United States, Canada and Norway revealed that 78.3 percent of the surgeons had symptoms of musculoskeletal injury, most commonly in the neck, shoulders and lower back; 6.7 percent required surgical intervention. The most common causes of pain cited included long surgery duration, tissue retraction and prolonged neck flexion. The most common solutions cited were core-strengthening exercises, stretching exercises and frequent adjustment of table height during surgery.
The study, “Work-Related Musculoskeletal Injuries in Plastic Surgeons in the United States, Canada, and Norway,” by Ibrahim Khansa, MD, et al, was published in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (January 2018).
