Acuderm

Surgical Smoke Regulation Begins to Clear
MIAMI – Rhode Island becomes the first state to pass a law requiring the evacuation of surgical smoke in all licensed hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers, whenever a procedure produces plume. Meanwhile expected states like Colorado and California drag their feet and remain unable to get surgical smoke regulations on the books. This precedence setting law will give other states a place to hang their hopes.

Medical device companies like Acuderm haven’t waited on legislation. They anticipated a need and invented a solution. “There is no safe smoke,” said Charles R. Yeh, CEO, of Acuderm, Inc. “Forward thinkers, like those of us at Acuderm, saw the need more than 25 years ago when we developed our first smoke evacuator.

“Currently, there are thousands of facilities across the globe using Acuderm’s patented, state-of-the-art capture, collection and filtration technology to remove harmful particles, viruses carried in blood droplets and toxic gases from the air, while providing safer workplaces in the process,” Yeh continued.

Two years ago, California Bill No. 402 passed the state senate, requiring regulations to be in place no later than June 1, 2019. Despite widespread support, Governor Jerry Brown vetoed this legislation. Meanwhile Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo signed a similar law mandating statewide compliance by April 1, 2019.

Since 1996, OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) has recommended the use of smoke evacuators within two inches of a surgical site to capture airborne contaminates. OSHA’s etool kit for surgical suites states that…

• Exposure to high concentrations of smoke may cause ocular and upper respiratory tract irritation and create visual problems for the perioperative team
• Smoke may contain toxic gases that could have the potential for adverse health impacts, such as mutagenic and carcinogenic impacts

Similarly, AORN and NIOSH (National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health) both recommend the same combination of precautions, general room ventilation and local exhaust ventilation (LEV) or a smoke evacuator at the surgical site. Unlike other evacuator manufacturers, Acuderm’s patented TX™ nozzle collects the industry’s largest field of surgical smoke at the ideal distance of 3 to 4 inches.

ABOUT ACUDERM (Acuderm.com)
For more than 35 years, medical professionals have relied upon Acuderm to provide superior value, while maintaining superior quality standards. Patents: FDA (USA), ISO 13485 (International) and CMDCAS (Canada) certified, UL2601 compliant and maintains a CE mark in Europe. For more information and to shop our online store at https://acuderm.com/3-products.