Surgical Smoke and the Dermatologist

In a review of the literature on surgical smoke published in the last 25 years, Lewin and colleagues find significant risks for dermatologists. Specifically, the routine use of electrocautery or lasers releases a plume that can theoretically cause cancer, infections, and pulmonary injury in surgeons and staff. While smoke particles larger than 5 µm are captured by traditional masks, many smaller particles are liberated by laser and electrosurgery, and particles smaller than 2 µm can be deposited in the lung alveoli. Surgical smoke contains acrylonitrile, a class 2A carcinogen, as well as benzene and many other byproducts similar to those found in cigarette smoke, albeit at lower concentrations. In mutagenicity studies, some researchers have…