What Does Surgical Smoke Contain

Surgical smoke is made up of 95% water or steam and 5% cellular debris in the form of particulate material which is composed of chemicals, blood and tissue particles, viruses, and bacteria 17, 26.

What is surgical smoke composed of?

Surgical smoke is composed of 95% water vapour and 5% particulate matter [6]. The latter consists of dead and living cellular material, lung-damaging particulates, blood fragments, bacteria, viruses and toxic chemicals [6].

What is surgical smoke evacuation?

Surgical smoke evacuation systems are high-flow vacuum sources used to capture, at the surgical site, the smoke aerosols and gases generated during the use of lasers and electrosurgical units (ESUs).