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Yes, I'm still on break! Haven't had ONE thing done - cosmetically-speaking - since MixTo face-fry in May 2010. (Oh, I'm consulting the stars now, and looking at a January window when Mercury goes "forward" again ... Got a list for Santa, but won't do a thing till 2012.)
I Bug U
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stache wrote:This is only if you have a laser procedure. Nope, the OR fire thing is really not as relavent to lasers (lasers seem to cause the lowest incidence of OR fires/injuries).
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What makes the spark that causes the fire? Cauterizing tool?
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Cauterizing tool mixed with the oxygen makes the spark. I have no idea how the 2 collide but that's the gist of it. stache wrote:What makes the spark that causes the fire? Cauterizing tool?
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^ Very good reading. Highlights include:
Betadine solution (10% povidone-iodine) also is flammable and is not recommended for the cleaning of skin in the presence of an ignition source.4 Solutions containing iodine have been shown to explode in the presence of high oxygen or nitrous oxygen concentrations.
Whereas the majority of the fires occurring in the operating room have involved the aforementioned fuels, there are a variety of less obvious substances that can ignite and become equally as catastrophic. These include dermatome glue used in the harvesting of skin grafts, lanugo, and gastrointestinal gases.9 Lanugo, the fine hair that covers most bodily surfaces and is found predominately on the face, is easily ignitable.
As mentioned previously, electrocautery (monopolar, bipolar, and battery-operated) units are renowned culprits. The temperature at the tip of the cautery unit can reach several hundred degrees, easily enough heat to start a fire.15 Other sources include lasers, overhead and fiberoptic light sources,16 drills, and burrs.15 The temperature at the distal end of a fiberoptic light source can reach levels well above the ignition temperature of most surgical drapes.17
Lasers are a particularly potent ignition mechanism for operating room fires. They create small areas of intense heat that can burn through anything in their path. Lasers have been reported to ignite throat packs, swabs, tracheal and tracheotomy tubes, clothing, and patient hair.18 The laser may also be reflected by surgical equipment such as forceps or other metallic instruments, creating fire hazards in many more unexpected places in the operating theater.
Human flatus contains approximately 44 percent hydrogen and 30 percent methane.11 If in an environment of at least 5 percent oxygen, hydrogen can explode at concentrations of between 4 percent and 72 percent, while methane can explode at concentrations of between 5 percent and 15 percent.
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I can't believe I had to write something postive about lasers. Ugh.
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stache wrote:^ Very good reading. Highlights include:
Betadine solution (10% povidone-iodine) also is flammable and is not recommended for the cleaning of skin in the presence of an ignition source.4 Solutions containing iodine have been shown to explode in the presence of high oxygen or nitrous oxygen concentrations.
Whereas the majority of the fires occurring in the operating room have involved the aforementioned fuels, there are a variety of less obvious substances that can ignite and become equally as catastrophic. These include dermatome glue used in the harvesting of skin grafts, lanugo, and gastrointestinal gases.9 Lanugo, the fine hair that covers most bodily surfaces and is found predominately on the face, is easily ignitable.
As mentioned previously, electrocautery (monopolar, bipolar, and battery-operated) units are renowned culprits. The temperature at the tip of the cautery unit can reach several hundred degrees, easily enough heat to start a fire.15 Other sources include lasers, overhead and fiberoptic light sources,16 drills, and burrs.15 The temperature at the distal end of a fiberoptic light source can reach levels well above the ignition temperature of most surgical drapes.17
Lasers are a particularly potent ignition mechanism for operating room fires. They create small areas of intense heat that can burn through anything in their path. Lasers have been reported to ignite throat packs, swabs, tracheal and tracheotomy tubes, clothing, and patient hair.18 The laser may also be reflected by surgical equipment such as forceps or other metallic instruments, creating fire hazards in many more unexpected places in the operating theater.
Human flatus contains approximately 44 percent hydrogen and 30 percent methane.11 If in an environment of at least 5 percent oxygen, hydrogen can explode at concentrations of between 4 percent and 72 percent, while methane can explode at concentrations of between 5 percent and 15 percent. I am ashamed to say one of my sons had a party trick involving flatus and matches. It was very funny
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