The lift sheet is designed to be positioned in between the patient’s scapulae and sacrum and serves a dual role: (1) as a lift sheet to move the patient up and down the table while he or she lies on the pad, and (2) as a means of tucking the patient’s arms. The foam has a high coefficient of friction and molds and conforms to the patient’s body to minimize slippage.

The pad is composed of a latex-free, breathable, open-cell, viscoelastic, shape-conforming foam that is secured to the OR table by hook and loops straps at each of the four corners. The Pink Pad is a single-use device that is ingeniously simple, with three basic components: a pad (that is … pink), a lift sheet, and a body strap. Xodus Medical (New Kensington, PA) thinks they have found something better and now present us with the Pigazzi Patient Positioning System™, also known as The Pink Pad. To address this emerging problem, OR teams have employed a variety of clever solutions using odd combinations of pads, egg-crates, bean bags, straps, hook and loops fasteners, and tape, with each team swearing lifelong fidelity to its home-grown technique … until they find something better. With the added complexity of cases and the introduction of robotic technology, there is a suggestion that injury rates are higher than previously thought, with one recent paper reporting a 6.6% incidence of positioning injuries. Although the risks of these injuries have traditionally been considered low (∼0.16%), 1 the studies on which these perceptions were founded are older and typically based on less advanced surgical procedures than are being performed today.

Unfortunately, this position coupled with gravity can cause patient slippage on the operating room (OR) table and undue pressure on the shoulders and upper extremities, leading to injuries. With the minimization of incisions, steep Trendelenburg positioning has been utilized to replace packing and retractors in keeping the bowel out of the surgical field.

Such is the case with pelvic laparoscopy. Not infrequently, technologic advances in one realm create new challenges in another.

Pad system pricing