2 4 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • M A Y 2 0 1 6
E
ven if a surgical team understands the hazards of surgical plume and even if a facil-
ity owns effective smoke evacuation technology, the equipment won't get used if it's
not set up in the OR. Taking steps to make it readily available before a case, howev-
er, can help to encourage compliance with smoke safety protocols. Make sure that your physi-
cians' preference cards for cases that use electrosurgery or laser devices include smoke evacu-
ators among the list of necessary equipment. And for those cases that use procedure packs,
arrange for smoke evacuator filters, tubing and other non-sterile disposable supplies to be
added to their contents.
Kay Ball, PhD, RN, CNOR, FAAN
Otterbein University
Make Smoke Evacuation Second Nature
• A STEP TO SAFETY If smoke evacuation is on hand, it's more likely to be used.
Westerville, Ohio
kayball@aol.com
