Low-cost, safe, and effective smoke evacuation device for surgical procedures in the COVID-19 age.

BACKGROUND: Smoke is generated by energy-based surgical instruments. The airborne by-products may have potential health implications. METHODS: We developed a simple way to use de conventional surgical evacuator coupled with de electrosurgical pen attached to a 14G bladder catheter for open surgery. It was used in ten prospective patients with breast cancer. RESULTS: We notice a high reduction in surgical smoke during all breast surgery. A questionnaire was used for all participants of the surgery to answer the impression that they had about the device. The subjective impression was that the surgical smoke in contact whit the surgical team was reduced by more than 95%. CONCLUSIONS: Surgical smoke is the gaseous by-product produced by heat-generating devices in various surgical procedures. Surgical smoke may contain chemicals particles, bacteria, and viruses that are harmful and increase the risk of infection for surgeons and all the team in the operation room due to long term exposure of smoke mainly in coronavirus disease 2019 age. The adapted device described is a very simple and cheaper way to use smoke evacuators attached with the monopolar electrosurgical pen to reduce smoke exposure to the surgical team worldwide.

Repercusión económica de la introducción de la electrocirugía en un hospital materno / Economic impact of the implementation of electrosurgery in a maternity hospital

Con el objetivo de evaluar la eficiencia de la electrocirugía en el hospital materno de Guanabacoa, se realizó un estudio descriptivo, prospectivo y longitudinal del costo de los tipos de tratamiento utilizados en la consulta de patología de cuello en el período de septiembre de 1996 a diciembre del 2000. La información se obtuvo del cálculo del costo de los recursos materiales, humanos y gasto indirecto de todas y cada una de las pacientes tratadas tanto por cirugía convencional como por electrocirugía. Se obtuvo una importante disminución del costo con la electrocirugía, por lo que se recomendó extender este proceder a todos los centros que llevan el programa de cáncer cérvico-uterino por los excelentes resultados económicos que reporta al país. Se obtuvo también un gran ahorro en moneda libremente convertible al sustituir las asas que se utilizaban en la electrocirugía por otras obtenidas por innovación y racionalización. Se posibilitó de esta manera mantener la electrocirugía en el hospital(AU

Cervical dysplasia treatment: key issues for developing countries

Many developing countries face serious obstacles that have hindered establishent of successful cervical cancer contrl programs. Various countries are now seeking to strenthen cytology services and identify simple low-cost screening strategies; but any real gains in reducing cervical cancer incidence and mortality will also require effective treatment of women with preinvasive disease. Despite a trend toward conservative outpatient approaches for treating cervical dysplasia in industrialized countries, clinicians in many developing countries still rely primarily on invasive inpatient methods such as cone biopsy and hysterectomy. For woment who could be treated with less invasive methods, these procedures tend to pose unnecessary risks and entail high costs that put them beyond the reach of may patients. Outpatient therapy, employing methods such as cryotherapy and the loop electrosurgical excision procedure (LEEP), combined with proper follow-up, is appropriate for dealing with visible lesions on the ectocervix when invasive cancer and endocervical involvement have been ruled out. Cryotherapy and LEEP hold out particular promise for developing countries because of their effectiveness, lack of side-effects, simplicity, and low cost. Cure rates range form 80 percent to 95 percent, depending on the method used and the severity of the lesions. However, each method has advantages and disadvantages that demand consideration. Various ways of reducing the number of follow-up visits, including the two-visit see and treat approach, are also available for use in areas where women's access to health services may be limited. A recent survey by the Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH) affirmed the tendency to rely on cone biopsy and hysterectomy. It also found that in many places all degrees of preinvasive disease were treated, rather than only high-grade or severe conditions; that respondents in Latin America, the Caribbean, and Asia tended to use cryotherapy and LEEP more widely than other low-cost methods; the LEEP was preferred over cryotherapy in Latin America; and the colposcopes and other basic equipment needed to provide treatment were nto consistently or widely available in some settings (AU)