Surgical Access

Most thoracic surgical procedures are performed by standard, open surgery, either by thoracotomy or sternotomy. However, the 1930's-era instrument commonly used to pry open the chest badly traumatizes the chest wall. So, recovery from the thoracotomy or sternotomy is long, painful, and sometimes badly complicated. 

Physcient is developing technology that decreases the trauma of surgical access. Surgeons regularly deform tissues either to gain surgical access to another tissue or organ, or as part of the surgical procedure. These deformations are usually extreme, beyond the point at which tissues can be badly damaged. For example, during a thoracotomy, ribs are spread apart with tremendous force — 40 to 125 pounds — breaking ribs, crushing nerves, and rending joints. 

Physcient has performed the first biomechanical analyses of these extreme tissue deformations. We believe that we have identified fundamental ways to deliver full surgical access with greatly reduced trauma. 

It's not the hole, it's how you make it.