The issues caused by surgical smoke in the operating room have recently become more commonly known. During electrosurgery and laser use, a smoke that contains bacteria, viruses, mutagens, and other pollutants is produced. This off-gas or surgical smoke can also potentially combine with the alcohol preps and other flammable gasses within the operating room to form harmful fumes. It is thus important to remove this surgical smoke in order to maintain a safe work environment in the operating room.
Because the amount of surgeries performed within the United States continues to skyrocket, healthcare providers, doctors, nurses and technicians as well as patients are at a greater risk for surgical smoke and other in-room off-gas exposures than ever before. This means that surgeons and surgery managers have to be more considerate of every detail that is a part of the operating procedure so that every factor may be managed.
Nearly 80 percent of all surgical procedures utilize techniques that produce surgical smoke. This means that proper sanitation procedures need to be used to remove this smoke and other gasses and fumes from the operating room quickly and effectively. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has ruled that standard room ventilation is not sufficient for the removal of smoke plume materials and that local or portable evacuation systems should be used to keep the air clean that employees and patients breathe.
Smoke evacuation systems like the Bovie Smoke Shark II are generally considered the most effective way to reduce and eliminate surgical smoke and other pollutants from the operating room. This system uses a four stage filtration process – pre-filter, ULPA, carbon, post-filter – to eliminate the risks associated with noxious fumes. The ULPA filter media is manufactured with VLSI Grade ULPA and is rated 0.1 micron with 99.9995% efficiency. This is one hundred times the efficiency of HEPA filter media.
The Smoke Shark II Evacuator has a modern, light-weight and compact design that makes it easy to use and easier to store. This model includes an extended-life filter that is capable of up to 35 hours of performance. This is a reduction of procedure cost by 38 percent from the previous model, when operated on its lowest setting. The Smoke Shark II also includes an ultra-quiet design that performs at the same excellent operation as its predecessor with less noise. Other manufacturer details about the Smoke Shark II Evacuator include:
- Line Voltage: 100/120 VAC
- Line Frequency: 50-60 Hz
- Width: 27.9 cm (11")
- Height: 15.2 cm (6")
- Depth: 39.4 cm (15.5")
- Weight: 4.3 kg (10 lbs.)
- Warranty (Unit): 2 year
To learn more about the Smoke Shark II Evacuator check out our products list. Or, to learn more about the risks associated with surgical smoke, download our eBook, Addressing Surgical Smoke in the Operating Room.
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