Surgical helmets can be converted into efficient disinfectable powered air-purifying respirators.

Background: Filtering facepiece respirators often fail to provide sufficient protection due to a poor fit. Powered air-purifying respirators (PAPRs) are not designed for healthcare personnel, and are challenging to disinfect. Surgical helmets (SH) are available in many United States hospitals but do not provide respiratory protection.

Does a surgical helmet provide protection against aerosol transmitted disease?

Background and purpose - The COVID-19 pandemic caused by infection with SARS-CoV-2 has led to a global shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE). Various alternatives to ordinary PPE have been suggested to reduce transmission, which is primarily through droplets and aerosols. For many years orthopedic surgeons have been using surgical helmets as personal protection against blood-borne pathogens during arthroplasty surgery.

Intra-Articular Osteotomy of the Distal Radius with the Use of Inexpensive In-House 3D Printed Surgical Guides and Arthroscopy: A Case Report.

Case: An 18-year-old man complained about persistent wrist pain and functional impairment due to intra-articular malunion, 1 year after volar plating of a distal radius fracture. We designed and produced patient-specific surgical guides (PSSGs) in-house with a benchtop three-dimensional printer to perform an arthroscopy-assisted intra-articular osteotomy of the radial column without dorsal arthrotomy. The procedure was performed without complications.