Airway fire during double-lung transplantation

Abstract

Airway fire is a well-documented event during airway surgery with devastating outcomes. Individuals involved in the care of these patients should be aware of this possible complication and precautions needed to prevent this complication.

Fire during pulmonary bullectomy by video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery

“…For example, the endotracheal tube was burnt by an electric scalpel during tracheostomy (5). In the thoracic cavity, when an electric scalpel was used near the bronchus stump, a double-lumen tube caught fire (6). If the operative field is the respiratory central airway, it can easily catch fire by using an electric scalpel.…”

Current Practice Issues in Thoracic Anesthesia

“…Bansal et al 77 reported a fire during double-lung transplantation, when an electric scalpel was used near the bronchial stump. At the time of the incident, the dependent right-lung was being ventilated with 100% oxygen.…”

Guidelines in Practice: Electrosurgical Safety

“…2 Although advances in the technology have made electrosurgery safer, 3 electrosurgical devices still are implicated in adverse events that can harm patients and personnel. [4][5][6][7] Human error (eg, misapplication of the device, inadvertent activation), direct or indirect transfer of electricity to conductive devices, or a device malfunction (eg, insulation failure) can cause adverse events, including burns, electrical shocks, and OR fires. 8 In addition, electromagnetic interference can cause a malfunction of or damage to the electrosurgical unit (ESU) or interfere with the function of an implanted electromechanical device (eg, a pacemaker or cochlear implant).…”