F E B R U A R U Y 2 0 1 8 • O U T PA T I E N TS U R G E R Y. N E T • 3 3
Y
ou wouldn't want your surgeons to sit in the OR and
smoke a pack-and-a-half of cigarettes while operating on
their patients, but many are doing nearly the equivalent
by creating surgical smoke and refusing to evacuate it.
I would know. Just over 3 years ago, at age 70, I under-
went a life-saving double lung transplant, something I believe was a
result of a danger that is lurking in ORs across the country: surgical
smoke, one of the largest unaddressed health hazards facing operat-
ing room staff today.
After taking a walk alongside a river bank and noticing I was short
of breath, I went to my doctor to find out what was going on. They
took a look and in 2013, I was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary
fibrosis. The disease causes lung tissue to become thick and stiff,
making it hard for the body to circulate oxygen properly. The disease
has no cure and many patients live only 3 to 5 years after diagnosis if
they don't undergo a lung transplant.
Surgical Smoke
Almost Killed Me
An orthopedic surgeon who needed a double lung transplant
is on a crusade to warn others about the dangers of plume.
Anthony Hedley, MD, FACS | Phoenix, Ariz.
