Operating room personnel morbidity from carbon dioxide laser use during preceptored surgery

Objective: To determine the extent of laser-induced morbidity away from the operative site during the preceptor phase of laser credentialing in our institution. Methods: All laser surgeries performed from June 1,1990 through May 31,1991 and preceptored by one of the authors (MB) were included in the study. All of the surgeries were performed by a resident or attending physician seeking laser privileges in our institution. During that time, 141 such cases were performed. Results: In 13 of 141 cases (9%), there were injuries unrelated to the surgical procedure itself to either the patient or operating personnel. There were nine accidents associated with laser use during 42 laparotomy procedures (21%) and four accidents at the time of 44 vulvar surgeries (9%). There were no accidents during laparoscopic or colposcopic surgery of the vagina or cervix. Conclusions: Despite extensive training requirements before use of the CO₂ laser, accidents did occur. Operating room safety requirements should be a high priority to minimize morbidity. We report our experience with intraoperative morbidity caused by surgeons’ errors and present recommendations to limit further complications.