that wouldn't impede their movements during surgery.)
Ms. Fujhara then laid the evacuators out on a table in front of the hos-
pital's products committee, who said they appreciated the importance of
smoke evacuation, but wanted documented proof that the evacuators
did what they claimed to do.
They want proof? She'll give them proof.
Ms. Fujhara brought in an occupational hygienist to measure counts
of 0.3 micrometer particles in the OR during 2 mastectomy procedures,
one performed with the use of a smoke evacuator and one without.
When the smoke evacuator was used, the particle count in the air
dropped by 86%.
She presented the astounding findings to the entire surgical team. "This
has been a nurse-driven initiative and we're fortunate to have received
support from the surgeons and anesthesia providers," she says. "I tell
them that their voices are behind the effort."
With the straight-from-the-OR data, Ms. Fujhara returned to the
J u l y 2 0 1 8 • O U T PA T I E N TS U R G E R Y. N E T • 4 9
department of health has the authority to investigate reported
complaints and enforce corrective measures as needed.
AORN spearheaded efforts to pass the legislation by informing
lawmakers about the dangers of surgical smoke, while the Rhode
Island State Nurses Association lobbied at the local level.
"legislators are often shock-ed to learn nurses and surgical
teams breathe in dangerous substances, despite readily available
evacuation equipment," says Ms. Glover.
She believes the legislation has helped increase national
awareness about the dangers of surgical smoke.
"We hope it will inspire facilities, states or both to create safe,
smoke-free environments for their healthcare workers and
patients," says Ms. Glover. — Daniel Cook
