Date of Award

6-2020

Document Type

Open Access

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science

Department

Bioengineering

First Advisor

Sudhir Khetan

Second Advisor

Shane Cotter

Third Advisor

Jennifer Currey

Keywords

surgical retractor, SOL retractor, c-section retractor, ring retractor, retractor, c-section, Alexis O C-section Retractor, OB-GYN

Abstract

Cesarean Sections (C-sections), a surgery conducted for baby delivery, can be divided into four distinct categories; Category 1 and 2 are considered emergency c-sections, and Category 3 and 4 are scheduled c-sections [2]. A comparative study from 2016 analyzed the difference of need for postoperative treatment between the Collins or the Alexis O retractor ( n = 100). The Alexis O C-Section retractor resulted in 19% of women requiring postoperative treatment, including medication, monitoring, and an extended stay at the hospital. The Collins resulted in 43% of the patients requiring postoperative treatment (p = 0.001) [5]. In emergency C-sections, surgical retractors are not used in the delivery due to the time constraint, less than 3 minutes, required to remove the baby from the womb. However, the use of any type of surgical retractor is based on the surgeon’s preference. Developing a surgical retractor that is readily available and implemented with ease would sway this preference to improve the patient’s health by limiting the need for postoperative treatment. An easier to install and more time-efficient C-section retractor that maintains the benefits of the Alexis O C-Section Retractor would allow more unaided clinicians to use a self-retaining surgical retractor during a C-section operation while also reducing postoperative complications such as blood loss and infection.

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