and surgical team members.
"Now we hear just a soft hum in
the room — like white noise,"
says Ms. Turner.
• Choose the correct filters.
After staff and surgeons trialed
smoke evacuators and began to
use them during procedures, Ms.
Turner continued her educational
efforts to ensure the devices were
being used properly. During the
process, she discovered many
facilities that have implemented
smoke evacuation programs don't
use the correct filters, a specifica-
tion that was absent from the
articles Ms. Turner had read. She
now refers to the evacuators'
instructions for use and makes
sure surgical teams are aware of
the importance of using the cor-
rect filters.
• Wear proper PPE. Another
level of smoke protection, which
Ms. Turner wasn't fully aware
about before COVID-19, involves
the proper level of mask protec-
tion that should be used during
smoke-producing cases. "I never
made sure I wore the correct
mask — I just made sure it fit
well," she says. "But now I realize
you always need to wear an
ASTM level 3 mask."
This level of protection is ideal
for most smoke-producing cases,
though Ms. Turner points out
higher-grade surgical laser masks
should be used for procedures
that are expected to generate
heavy amounts of plume.
Momentum for change
After training staff at her center
on smoke evacuation, Ms. Turner
traveled throughout eight facili-
N O V E M B E R 2 0 2 0
• O U T P A T I E N T S U R G E R Y . N E T • 3 3
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