Exposure of Surgeons to Magnetic Fields during Laparoscopic and Robotic Gynecologic Surgeries.

Study Objective: To measure and compare levels of extremely-low-frequency magnetic field (ELF-MF) exposure to surgeons during laparoscopic and robotic gynecologic surgeries.
Design: Prospective case-control study.
Design Classification: Canadian Task Force I.
Setting: Gynecologic surgeries at the Yonsei University Health System in Seoul, Korea from July to October in 2014.
Patients: Ten laparoscopic gynecologic surgeries and 10 robotic gynecologic surgeries.
Intervention: The intensity of ELF-MF exposure to surgeons was measured every 4 seconds during 10 laparoscopic gynecologic surgeries and 10 robotic gynecologic surgeries using portable ELF-MF measuring devices with logging capability.
Measurement and Main Results: The mean ELF-MF exposures were .1 ± .1 mG for laparoscopic gynecologic surgeries and .3 ± .1 mG for robotic gynecologic surgeries. ELF-MF exposure levels to surgeons during robotic gynecologic surgery were significantly higher than those during laparoscopic gynecologic surgery (p < .001) after adjustment for duration of measurement.
Conclusion: The present study demonstrated low levels of ELF-MF exposure to surgeons during robotic gynecologic surgery and conventional laparoscopic surgery, hoping to alleviate concerns regarding the hazards of MF exposure posed to surgeons and hospital staff.
(Copyright © 2015 AAGL. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)