Evaluation of a smoke evacuator used for laser surgery

Details

• Personal Author:
  Bryant, Charles J. ; Fleeger, Alan K. ; Moss, C. Eugene ; Smith JP
• Description:
  The effectiveness of a smoke evacuation system used for laser surgery was assessed. A 30 watt medical carbon-dioxide continuous wave laser was used to make incisions in a pork chop to simulate smoke production during laser surgery. A commercially available smoke evacuation system was used to control the resultant smoke, the concentrations of which were measured at 6 inches and at 3 and 4 feet from the interaction site. The nozzle of the evacuator was positioned 2, 6 and 12 inches from the surgical site to measure the relative effectiveness of the control. Complete control of smoke was achieved when the nozzle was located at 2 inches, but significant amounts of smoke escaped when the nozzle was located at 6 and 12 inches. Suggestions for use of the smoke evacuation system and areas for further study were given. The authors conclude that nozzle distances of more than 2 inches are likely to expose personnel working near the interaction site to high smoke concentrations; they recommend pursuit of other emission control methods and efforts to reduce system noise. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Health Care Facilities Workforce And Services Health Personnel Occupational Health Safety Smoke Workplace
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Emission Control Equipment-design Fume Lasers Medical-equipment Medical-personnel NIOSH-Author Smoke-control Ventilation Work-environment

  More +
• ISSN:
  0196-8092
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DPSE - Division of Physical Sciences and Engineering ; DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  276-281
• Volume:
  9
• Issue:
  3
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00205786
• Citation:
  Lasers Surg Med 1989 May/Jun; 9(3):276-281
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1989
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Lasers in Surgery and Medicine
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:675a42b2ecb0acba7d298b8a921cf32e33f34ad4aa9c9036edab40fe1edc7174a372c29f68a90e534ac7ce38e5d04704ed7a099fd200426bb370eb954f7223d4
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/204667/cdc_204667_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 243.06 KB ]