address those concerns and get those surgeons on board, too.
One common complaint was the noise. Smoke evacuation can be like
having a noisy fan running all the time, and people can't talk to each
other as easily. To address that, we purchased devices that trigger the
evacuator to run only when the device is in use. That's been helpful and
well-received by surgeons.
Large-diameter tubing that gets in the way in the surgical field has
also been a concern. So we trialed some devices that have smoke-
evacuation tubing already connected. The electrosurgical pen that has
the tubing attached has also worked very well for us. We also have a
passive device we use in laparoscopic surgery that has tubing that
attaches to the trocars and a filter. It keeps the surgical field clear and
protects the patient from surgical smoke. Most recently, we've been
talking to vendors and working on the challenges posed by bipolar
electrosurgery and power tools. As far as I know, there's still no con-
venient device available to manage the smoke they generate.
As I noted, this is an ongoing initiative. And we plan to keep at it
until we can all breathe a little easier. OSM
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O U T P A T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E | A P R I L 2 0 1 5
Ms. Chavis (slchavis@msn.com) works for a
Magnet-designated medical center on the East Coast.
