Patient set on fire during surgery

[ffemt8978]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-17222668

A patient undergoing surgery at a hospital in North Yorkshire was set on fire during the procedure when solution used to clean the skin ignited.

 

[mycrofft]

Not as rare as you think, if you count "harmless" flash fires from flammable anesthetic gasses versus lasers/static electricity/electrocautery.

 

[CritterNurse]

You would think surgical nurses and anesthesiologists would know better than to use flammable anesthetic gasses or flammable solutions to prep the area for surgery if lasers, electro-cautery, or other methods that could ignite things were going to be used.

I know that stuff was drilled into my head in school, and on the job when I'd assist during surgery.

 

[WuLabsWuTecH]

Many anesthetics in use today are flammable. Just something you can't avoid sometimes!

 

[MasterIntubator]

Sad and unfortunate... but its sorta rare, but the news does like stories like these, and the reporting makes it sound like its common.
Wonder what they used for the skin prep.
The gases are all isolated in the breathing circuit and a negative pressure scavenger takes them far away from the suite, rare for a gas flash.