Repertoire Magazine

Promoting Excellence in Healthcare Sales

Help your customers clear the air with smoke evacuation from Bovie ®

Choosing smoke evacuation systems can be confusing.
Let us help you clear the air for your customers.

What causes surgical smoke and what does a smoke evacuation system do?
Electrosurgery generators are today’s standard of care for providing the energy needed to cut and coagulate tissue. Generators convert electricity into energy, which travels through a pencil/handpiece to the electrode at the surgical site. Surgical smoke, also known as a plume, occurs when electricity and tissue meet. A smoke evacuation system pulls smoke plumes from the surgical site, via tubing, into a filter, thus capturing particles that otherwise would be dispersed into the air and inhaled by the OR staff and patient.

What are the risks of surgical smoke?
Surgical smoke contains multiple components that are known health hazards, such as benzene, toluene, hydrogen cyanide, formaldehyde, volatile organic compounds, viruses and bacteria. In fact, the inhalation of surgical smoke can lead to the passage of human disease to those who breathe it. AORN Journal, Back to Basics: Protection from Surgical Smoke, July 2018, Vol. 108, No. 1

Are smoke evacuation systems mandatory?
The state of Rhode Island recently passed legislation mandating the use of smoke evacuation systems in operating rooms, which will be effective January 1, 2019. There are several other bills in various states of consideration in other states, and we anticipate other states joining Rhode Island and passing similar bills to regulate surgical smoke to protect surgeons, staff, and patients. Further, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has called attention to the dangers of surgical smoke and urges facilities to, “Evacuate all smoke, no matter how much is generated.”

Who currently uses smoke evacuation systems?
Any surgeon who performs a procedure with an electrosurgical instrument would benefit from using a smoke evacuation system. Among the most frequent users of smoke evacuation systems are facilities and surgeons who perform OB-GYN procedures, such as the LEEP (Loop Electrical Excision Procedure. This procedure is performed by using a speculum to open the vaginal canal, using a colposcope to view the cervix, and then using a loop electrode to remove a thin layer of the cervix for testing in the lab. Without a smoke evacuation system, it would be nearly impossible for the surgeon to see the cervix through the smoke resulting from the loop electrode’s use. Perhaps more importantly, the plume from this procedure is typically laden with viral particles, so not only does it put the procedure’s efficacy at risk, but it also risks the surgeon’s health.Other users of smoke evacuation systems include operating rooms in ambulatory surgery, acute facilities, surgery centers and physician offices/clinics.

Why should your customers be concerned about filter life?
Replacing filters is one of the largest recurring expenses associated with smoke evacuation systems. That expense will lead your customers to insist on a filter that provides the greatest number of hours of use. Bovie’s filter is very effective in this respect, lasting 35 hours and providing a color-coded lifecycle countdown to help track replacement timing. The simple green, yellow, red signal ensures that staff is aware as a filter reaches the end of its life cycle so they can have additional filters ready. When the red light is showing, this means that the unit has depleted the filter life and it will no longer activate, so additional filters should always be on hand.

Using customized settings to enhance filter life:
Some smoke evacuation systems allow users to select the proper setting for each procedure, such as High, Med and Low. These settings are helpful because they can ensure the proper power levels are utilized and filter life is extended. For example, if the clinician’s most common procedures produce a light amount of smoke plumes, they would choose a Low setting. However, if the most common pro- cedure is a tummy tuck that would cause a greater amount of smoke plume, they would utilize a High setting. Each setting changes the life cycle of the filter.
For example, the filters on the Bovie ® Smoke Shark II will have varying life cycles depending on the setting used:
• High – 18 hours
• Med – 24 hours
• Low – 35 hours

Using other methods to enhance the filter life:
Using an accessory such as Bovie’s “Remote Switch Activator” will also help extend filter life by ensuring that the system is only utilized when needed, not constantly. Typically, the smoke evacuator may run during the entire procedure, or until it is manually turned off. If the procedure involves removing a mole or skin tag, the filter may need to run only a minute. But if the physician is performing a C-section, breast augmentation or other time-consuming procedure, it will require more smoke evacuation time. The length of the procedure is one of the factors that determines the filter life. The Remote Switch Activator acts as the physician’s personal assistant. When he or she activates the generator’s pencil or handpiece to cut or coagulate, the activator starts the smoke evacuation system. When the physician releases the pencil/handpiece activation the smoke evacuation system is shut down – potentially extending the filter’s life.

Quiet please
Many customers have complaints about the amount of noise generated by their current evacuation systems. Bovie’s system omits a low noise level, allowing the clinician to perform procedures with limited distraction and potentially a greater degree of focus on the patient.

When choosing a smoke evacuation system, your customers should check for these 4 things:

  • Filter Life – This could be a costly mistake if the wrong system is purchased. Bovie ® filters have a 35-hour filter life on Low setting, among the longest in the industry.
  • Customizable Settings – Customized settings allow users to engage the smoke evacuation system to operate based on intended procedures, using the right degree of power and potentially extending filter life.
  • Accessories that Enhance Filter Life – The Bovie ® Remote Switch Activator accessory provides clinicians with the ability to activate the evacuation system only when cutting or coagulating – preventing the filter from running during the entire procedure and enhancing filter life.
  • Noise Reduction – Your customers should ask to listen to every unit prior to purchase. Preventing distraction during delicate procedures is imperative.

For more information about smoke evacuation:

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