Suction electrocautery device: an aid to decreasing localized air contamination

Airborne contaminants have been documented as a source of contamination for operating room personnel. Although electrocautery and LASER evaporation of venereal warts have been proven to release into the immediate environment, human papilloma virus DNA,(1) actual shedding and infectivity of viral particles has not been demonstrated. Surgical masks do remove viral particles. The unanswered question is whether they are effective filters of larger volumes of contaminated operating room air. Devices have been reported to aid in removal of such particles from the working operative environment.(2) Some of these techniques require purchase of new and expensive equipment. We describe our technique for suction-assisted cautery, at no added cost compared with standard operative setup.