ECRI describes another fire
that was caused by sparking from a burr. A patient was undergoing
maxillofacial surgery with general anesthesia maintained through
a nasal mask with a concentration of 25 percent oxygen, 75 percent
nitrous oxide and a small percentage of halogenated anesthetic.
The patient had a mustache. As the surgeon was grinding a filling
with a burr, an incandescent spark flew from the burr and arced
out of the patient's
mouth over his upper lip, and landed in his moustache. Because
of the high concentration of oxygen, the moustache immediately
burst into flame and ignited the nasal mask. The mask was removed,
but not before that patient sustained significant burns to his
nose and upper lip.
Activated light cables that have become detached from the light source
or telescope have been known to ignite surgical drapes and gowns, as
well as cause serious tissue burns. The photograph on this slide illustrates
how a fiber-optic cable that has been illuminated can burn a hole through
a drape.
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