Fire Risk During Ophthalmic Plastic Surgery
A high oxygen concentration was reported as the major risk factor behind 74% of all surgical fires. Given that surgical fires are a dreaded complication of combining electrocautery and oxygen use, minimizing increases in oxygen concentration above atmospheric levels should be the goal of not just anesthesia staff, but also surgeons. With 28% of surgical fires occurring on the face, reducing this risk factor is of particular interest to the ophthalmic surgeon.