Chest-Up: Obtaining Safe Positioning for Thoracic Surgery

Thoracotomy surgeries, both open and video assisted, are often carried out in the lateral decubitus position to optimize surgical access to the operative side. However, this position is also associated with mechanical injuries of the shoulder joint ligaments and pulling on the structures of the brachial plexus. The neck is laterally flexed and has potential to cause mechanical injury as well due to the dependent position of the patient's head. The current method of positioning involves stacking of towels under a head support. To the study team's knowledge, no pre-formed head and neck support exists that can cope with the required surgical position. Thus, the study team has conceptualized an adaptive head and neck support pillow to meet this need and address patient safety concerns.