Use of Traditional Curved Iris Scissors or the Wuennenberg Modified Curved Iris Scissors for Skin Surgery (TISMIS)

University of Missouri (MU)

Status: Completed

Conditions: Skin Cancer

Treatments: Other: Wuennenberg Modified Curved Iris Scissors; Other: Traditional Curved Iris Scissors; Other: Comparative Experience of Traditional and Wuennenberg Modified Curved Iris Scissors

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT04413383

2023744

Details and patient eligibility

About

Every year thousands of dermatologic surgery procedures are performed at the University of Missouri Department of Dermatology, including Mohs Micrographic Surgery (MMS), Excisions, and biopsies. Surgery is known to cause anxiety for patients and with these procedures performed under local anesthetic on awake patients', the sights, sounds, and smells experienced during the procedure can lead to an increase in their anxiety or affect their overall perception of the experience. From performing and assisting with dermatologic surgery the noise associated with the use of the traditional curved Iris scissors provokes an increase in patient awareness to the procedure resulting in increased anxiety, triggering of the vasovagal response, and expressions of annoyance by the patient. However, the modified curved Iris scissors make almost no noise. The Investigators hypothesize that if patients were given the comparative experience of both types of curved Iris scissors during dermatologic surgery, then they will choose the modified curved Iris scissors because the lack of noise will be perceived as more pleasant experience. Our objective is to perform a prospective, single blinded, randomized controlled trial to determine how the noise of traditional curved Iris scissors vs the silent Wuennenberg modified curved Iris scissors affects patients during dermatologic surgery.

Enrollment: 147 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Adult (18 years or older)
• non-pregnant
• patients being treated with Mohs micrographic surgery or excision on the head and neck

Exclusion criteria

• Patients not meeting above inclusion criteria will be excluded.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Other

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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147 participants in 3 patient groups

Traditional Curved Iris Scissors

Active Comparator group

Description:

The traditional curved Iris scissors are used to during the dermatologic surgery. Patients complete a survey after the surgery on sights, sounds and smells experienced during the procedure.

Treatment:

Other: Traditional Curved Iris Scissors

Modified Curved Iris Scissors

Experimental group

Description:

The Wuennenberg modified curved Iris scissors are used during the dermatologic surgery. Patients complete a survey after the surgery on sights, sounds and smells experienced during the procedure.

Treatment:

Other: Wuennenberg Modified Curved Iris Scissors

Comparative Experience

Other group

Description:

Both the traditional and modified curved Iris scissors are used and patients are asked which they prefer. Patients complete a survey after the surgery on sights, sounds and smells experienced during the procedure.

Treatment:

Other: Comparative Experience of Traditional and Wuennenberg Modified Curved Iris Scissors