Development of a new suction instrument to reduce surgical smoke exposure in the operating room

To remove surgical smoke and its toxic components, we developed a novel smoke removal tube nested with the intraoperative suction tube, enabling convenient application during surgery and reducing hazards of surgical smoke exposure to medical staff.

Standardized cuts with an electric knife were performed on pig dorsal tissue in an animal laboratory operating room without vertical laminar flow. The generated surgical fumes were analyzed using microcomputer laser dust meter counters for real-time monitoring of particulate matter 2.5 μm (PM2.5). Three new design suction tubes with different orifice diameters (1.5, 2.0, and 2.5 mm), each connected to local smoke evacuation, were compared with a conventional instrument without smoke evacuation.

The PM2.5 levels were significantly reduced with all three new tools, with smoke reduction rates of 24.20%, 66.86%, and 43.02%, respectively. Ten seconds after cutting, the 2.0-mm-diameter suction tube demonstrated lower PM2.5 concentrations compared with the other two groups, and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05).

This study is the first to develop an "all-in-one" surgical smoke device that enables simultaneous suction of smoke and blood with one hand. Among the tested tools, the 2.0-mm-diameter instrument is the best one. These results promote the use of local smoke evacuation and may inspire other surgeons to further innovation in this field.