When preparing a patient for safe bloodless spine surgery, a comprehensive evaluation is recommended. This ensures “no surprises” in the operating room.
In this book, the factors that govern blood loss and blood transfusion are discussed.
This manuscript presents the comprehensive preparation of a patient for bloodless spine surgery, techniques for diminishing blood loss in the operating room, postoperative considerations, and includes case reports of patients who have undergone surgery using the blood management methods outlined.
Digital images and illustrations are incorporated throughout the book to show important concepts, and a dictionary is provided to thoroughly explain the important factors in bloodless surgery.
An effort was made to ensure that the information is provided for readers who come from a non-medical background, with adhering to the basics.
Jehovah’s Witness: It is estimated that there are more than 2 million Jehovah’s Witnesses in the United States. Followers of this religion believe that the Bible prohibits blood or blood product transfusion (Acts 15:28-29). Typically, patients of this religion do not accept transfusions of whole blood, packed cells, white blood cells, platelets, or plasma or autotransfusion of predeposited blood. Some witnesses may permit infusion of albumin, clotting factor solutions, or dextran or other plasma expanders and intraoperative autotransfusion, done under closed loop technique.
Even though a transfusion may be necessary to save a patient’s life, the administration of blood and/or blood products in the face of refusal after informed consent can be legally considered a violation of a patient’s right to control what is done to his or her body. In the awake and otherwise competent adult, courts have ruled that physicians cannot be held liable if they comply with a patient’s directive and withhold life-saving blood administration following specific and detailed informed consent of the consequences of such an omission of treatment. The issue becomes diificult when patients are unconscious (most Jehovah’s witnesses carry cards informing medical personnel of their religious beliefs), or minors
“Tweet this!” Bloodless Advice & Strategies For Jehovah’s Witnesses
Jehovah’s witnesses suffer from herniated discs, spinal stenosis and require spine surgery, bloodless spine surgery, spinal decompression surgery, spinal fusion surgery, and revision spine surgery. These bloodless techniques are great for Jehovah’s Witnesses and for non-witnesses too.
