The effect of a surgical smoke evacuation system on surgical site infections of the spine (2018)

Summary

Surgical site infections continue to represent a costly complication of spine surgery. Studies show that surgical smoke can contain infectious agents, and smoke evacuation systems have demonstrated effective removal of these particles from the operative field.

Kreuger et al. reviewed the literature on surgical smoke and to study the effect of a smoke evacuation system on the rate of surgical site infections (SSIs) after spine surgery.