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S U R G I C A L
S M O K E
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HAZY UNDERSTANDING Many OR personnel fail to connect their respiratory problems to smoke exposure.
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Time to Clear the Air
Rid your ORs of surgical smoke to protect patients and staff.
Mary J. Ogg, MSN, RN, CNOR
Terri Link, MPH, BSN, CNOR
Denver, Colo.
If you don't smoke, chances are you don't plan to start. That would be foolish. But if you're working in a perioperative setting that doesn't adequately evacuate surgical smoke, you may be facing the same dangers as a cigarette smoker. Studies show that inhaling the smoke generated by 1 gram of tissue during laser surgery is about the same as smoking 3 unfiltered cigarettes in 15 minutes. And inhaling the smoke from 1 gram of tissue during electrosurgery ups the ante to 6 cigarettes in 15 minutes. Do it several times in every shift and it's as though you have a 2-pack-a-day vice.
When it comes to failing to evacuate surgical smoke, it's time to kick the habit.
