Something like this happened not long ago at one of the well-known local hospitals when a pt went for a routine, innocent abdominal procedure with laser and gas leakage caused an explosion. The person died. I wouldn't call the death of innocent rats a complete waste.
Lasers are concentrated light and heat that are used to seal blood vessels and do other things during surgery. Industrial lasers can melt metal.
Anesthetic gases are known to be potentially combustible/flammable. The tanks are one of the concerns of firefighters when dealing with dentist and doctor offices, and hospital fires. (And storage facilities.) There's a reason certain labels have to be used in transport.
Yet it takes an experiment to say maaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyybbbbbbbbeeeeeeeeeeee it's a bad idea to use lasers where anesthetics might leak. AND it's buried on page umpteen of a journal.
One wonders when she received the forms. I know if I needed forms and the doctor was not available, I'd be checking with other doctors in the practice and/or my gp/internist and/or the folks who needed the form for an extension of time.
Actually, flammable agents are a rarity at least in human anesthesia these days. Not sure this is a big problem in veterinary medicine either. Not sure that vets have little rat masks that they use to ventilate their little rat patients. I suspect they just carry the sick rat back to surgery, replace it with a new rat, then bring it out to the owner stating that it is "all better!"
Hattie-vet medical equipment suppliers. They might even have them in the Drs Foster and Smith web page (pet/vet supplies). I know many Fire/EMT vehicles are now carrying oxygen equipment for cats and dogs
I'm not highly interested in what this means to rats. I am interested in what this means to humans. If I were to put a prohibition on something it would be for humans not rats. BTW I LOVED the comment about the tiny rat masks.
Veterinary anesthesiologist here: the volatile anesthetics we use are not combustable. We do, however, tend to use 100% O2 as our carrier gas because what's involved in being able to provide medical air-O2 mixtures tends to be cost prohibitive for the average veterinary practitioner. Anytime a laser is required for a procedure, intubation is recommended, NOT a mask regardless of the species because of the risk of fire. For surgery involving laser or cautery near the airway, we strongly recommend air-O2 mixtures to reduce the FiO2 and thus limit the chance of ignition.
Sounda likw someone wanted an excuse to set things on fire with a laser?
ReplyDeleteI think the 'scientist' was either making lightsaber noises, or saying 'No Mr Bond, I expect you to die!" and laughing maniacally.
Buried under 638 pages of more important research.
ReplyDeleteDang! They take the fun out of everything.
ReplyDeleteWell then why was a laser included in my Frozen veterinary surgery game?
ReplyDeleteSomething like this happened not long ago at one of the well-known local hospitals when a pt went for a routine, innocent abdominal procedure with laser and gas leakage caused an explosion. The person died. I wouldn't call the death of innocent rats a complete waste.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing anyone should be doing with a laser is play catch the red dot with their cat.
ReplyDeleteLocally, an MRI machine exploded at an Animal Hospital and seriously injured 3 humans. Google Oradell Animal Hospital.
Medicine of all sorts has become as dangerous as coal mining.
Sounds stupid, but I was in the OR when ENT lasering papillomas off trachea started fire in airway. Bad.
ReplyDeleteLasers are concentrated light and heat that are used to seal blood vessels and do other things during surgery. Industrial lasers can melt metal.
ReplyDeleteAnesthetic gases are known to be potentially combustible/flammable. The tanks are one of the concerns of firefighters when dealing with dentist and doctor offices, and hospital fires. (And storage facilities.) There's a reason certain labels have to be used in transport.
Yet it takes an experiment to say maaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyybbbbbbbbeeeeeeeeeeee it's a bad idea to use lasers where anesthetics might leak. AND it's buried on page umpteen of a journal.
Oy vey.
I think the real issue is that
ReplyDeletea) the two conclusions are saying pretty much the same thing - don't do laser surgery on unintubated rodents with active anesthesia
and
b) why are we only worried about surgery on rodents? the abstract makes it sound like results from one species can't be transfered to another.
One wonders when she received the forms. I know if I needed forms and the doctor was not available, I'd be checking with other doctors in the practice and/or my gp/internist and/or the folks who needed the form for an extension of time.
ReplyDeleteActually, flammable agents are a rarity at least in human anesthesia these days. Not sure this is a big problem in veterinary medicine either. Not sure that vets have little rat masks that they use to ventilate their little rat patients. I suspect they just carry the sick rat back to surgery, replace it with a new rat, then bring it out to the owner stating that it is "all better!"
ReplyDeleteWhy did Frank Zappa's Hot Rats immediately come to mind?
ReplyDeleteTwo points here to anonymous, 1. oxygen is flammable. 2. Rats are hard to intubate, of course we use rat masks!
ReplyDeleteWho makes the tiny rat masks, I ask myself.
ReplyDeleteHattie-vet medical equipment suppliers. They might even have them in the Drs Foster and Smith web page (pet/vet supplies). I know many Fire/EMT vehicles are now carrying oxygen equipment for cats and dogs
ReplyDeleteI'm not highly interested in what this means to rats. I am interested in what this means to humans. If I were to put a prohibition on something it would be for humans not rats. BTW I LOVED the comment about the tiny rat masks.
ReplyDeleteThis is clearly the next Ig Nobel winner.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a fire professional, but I'd recommend that you not perform these procedures on rats.
ReplyDeleteThe vet down the street would be my first choice for referral.
Veterinary anesthesiologist here: the volatile anesthetics we use are not combustable. We do, however, tend to use 100% O2 as our carrier gas because what's involved in being able to provide medical air-O2 mixtures tends to be cost prohibitive for the average veterinary practitioner. Anytime a laser is required for a procedure, intubation is recommended, NOT a mask regardless of the species because of the risk of fire. For surgery involving laser or cautery near the airway, we strongly recommend air-O2 mixtures to reduce the FiO2 and thus limit the chance of ignition.
ReplyDelete