Laser safety on the move with a fire risk assessment tool prior to laser use intraop

Paramount to a surgical patients’ care during the intraoperative phase of surgical intervention is the need for a pause to perform a “fire safety check that includes a “Time Out” before the initial use of laser. The “Time Out” is a moment to review and discuss the level of fire risk. The inclusion of such fire safety prevention parameters is a critical step in the operating room (OR). Fires can happen at any time in the OR, especially when using lasers or supplies that are contributing sources of it. The surgical team must have a structure for calling out the concerns for fire proactively. Such a structure for fire safety includes the Universal Protocol’s “Time Out” which is regulated by The Joint Commission. To avoid pitfalls when coordinating a culture of fire safety for laser use in the OR, it is necessary to have all surgical team members involved in the planning stages. OR fire prevention is a shared responsibility allocated among all the care givers working there. Close and prompt coordination of the duties among the anesthesiologists, nurses and surgeons form the logical steps for keeping the patient safe from fires. (Advisory Statement, ASA, 2018). The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) reports that for a fire to occur, three components – or a “fire triad” – must be present in the OR and the surgical team share the responsibility to provide the interventions needed to extinguish the fire and make the environment safe for the patient.