Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Smoke evacuators cut tiny particles in dog knee surgery rooms
By Geier, Cindy M et al.·Published in Veterinary surgery : VS·2022·Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: The effect of a smoke-evacuation unit on ultrafine particle concentrations in the operating room during approach to the proximal tibia for tibial plateau-leveling osteotomy surgery in dogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 29 dogs undergoing surgery to fix a knee problem (tibial plateau-leveling osteotomy) had their operating room air quality tested to see if using a smoke-evacuation unit helped reduce harmful particles in the air. The dogs were split into two groups: one with the smoke-evacuator and one without. Results showed that the group using the smoke-evacuator had significantly lower levels of harmful particles during surgery compared to the group that did not use it. This suggests that using a smoke-evacuator can help improve air quality in the operating room during such procedures.
People also search for: dog knee surgery air quality · TPLO surgery safety · smoke evacuator for dog surgery
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of a smoke-evacuation unit on reducing ultrafine particle concentration in the operating room (OR) during the approach to the proximal tibia for tibial plateau-leveling osteotomy (TPLO). STUDY DESIGN: Prospective, randomized, controlled clinical trial. SAMPLE POPULATION: Twenty-nine client-owned dogs undergoing unilateral TPLO at a single institution were assigned to either smoke-evacuator groups (SE; n = 15) or non-smoke-evacuator groups (NSE; n = 14). METHODS: Dogs were randomly assigned to the SE group or the NSE group. An airborne particle measuring device measured and recorded baseline and intraoperative particles per cm(ppc) during the approach to the proximal tibia during which electrosurgery was used to provide hemostasis, dissect subcutis, transect and elevate fascia. The mean ppc, maximum ppc, and baseline ppc were compared between groups. Mean ppc was also compared to the baseline ppc within each group. RESULTS: During surgery, mean ppc (1352) and maximum ppc (62 450) for the NSE group were higher in than mean ppc (763) and maximum ppc (10 100) for the SE group (P < .0001, P < .0001, respectively). Mean ppc was higher in both SE (mean ppc = 763; P < .0001) and NSE (mean ppc = 1352; P = .0001) than their respective baseline ppc (213 and 240). CONCLUSION: The use of a smoke evacuator decreased particle concentrations 56.4% during the approach to the proximal tibia. Performing the approach to the proximal tibia resulted in higher particle concentrations than the baseline, regardless of smoke-evacuator use. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Surgeons should be aware of smoke produced by electrosurgery, potential health consequences, and methods of smoke mitigation (smoke evacuation).
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35224762/