Analysis of intraoperative radiation use in vascular surgery: Catalyst for quality improvement in patient and personnel safety

Objectives There is paucity in the literature reporting radiation usage analysis in vascular surgery. In the era of endovascular surgeries, analyzing the surgeons' use of radiation in vascular procedures can help establish quality improvement initiatives. Methods A retrospective review was undertaken of intraoperative fluoroscopic-guided vascular surgery procedures at a single institution from 2010 to 2017. Mobile C-arms were utilized to gather the six radiation usage metrics and cases were categorized into 6 anatomic surgical fields and 10 surgical procedure types. Results Three hundred and eighteen vascular surgery cases were analyzed and notable trends in all radiation usage metrics were identified both across the surgical field location and type of surgical procedure. The highest cumulative dose was identified in embolization cases with a mean of 932.5 mGy. The highest fluoroscopic time was seen in atherectomies with a mean of 2629.6 s. In terms of surgical field, the highest cumulative does and fluoroscopic time was identified in abdomen/pelvis procedures with a mean of 352.1 mGy and 1186.8 s, respectively. Analysis of dose reduction techniques also demonstrated notable trends. Conclusions There were notable trends in the analyzed radiation usage variables both across the surgical field location and type of surgical procedure. Specifically, cases that involve the abdomen/pelvis, embolization and atherectomy have the highest radiation use. These types of cases can be targeted for future improved dose reduction techniques or staged procedures. This data can serve as baseline information for future quality improvement initiatives for patient and personnel radiation exposure safety.