Most people are shocked to learn that people can catch on fire in an operating room. However, several hundred operating room fires occur every year. True, the odds of being involved in an operating room fire are quite small (there are 28 million surgeries per year) but the consequences of a fire in the operating room can be significant for the patient who happens to be involved.
Readers will find this article about operating room fire prevention to be very interesting. Here is an abstract of the article:
Operating room fires are a rare but preventable danger in modern healthcare operating rooms. Optimal outcomes depend on all operating room personnel being familiar with their roles in fire prevention and fire management. Despite the recommendations of major safety institutes, this familiarity is not the current practice in many healthcare facilities. Members of the anesthesiology and the surgery departments are commonly not actively involved in fire safety programs, fire drills, and fire simulations that could lead to potential delays in prevention and management of intraoperative fires.
Read more about fires and burns occurring during surgery by clicking on the link.