Rare case, a patient's lung sparked a fire in the surgery procedure

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The fire ignites in the middle of the surgery even though it can be extinguished without injuring the patient. "Emphasizing the need for continuous fire training and prevention strategies" wrote Dr. Ruth Shaylor of the Department of Anesthesia and Pain Medicine at Austin Health, who reported the case, in a statement, quoted from LiveScience.

It began when a 60-year-old patient underwent surgery to treat blood vessel damage in his heart. This patient has a history of chronic pulmonary disorder, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). The patient has a 'bullae', or lung tissue that is swollen due to COPD, and it is stuck in the breastbone. The doctor tried to avoid the bullae, but accidentally stabbed one of them. As a result, air escapes from the lung tissue.

In order to save patients from the risk of breathing disorders, doctors provide additional oxygen in larger doses. At the same time, the doctor uses an electric knife to dissect the patient. The way it works is to drain electricity which will heat the tissue, so that no bleeding occurs.

Unexpectedly, the device ignited the fire and triggered a small 'fire'. Fire can be extinguished by salt water or saline water without injuring the patient. Despite the incident, the surgery went smoothly. This rare case will be presented at the Euroanaesthesia contest in Austria. It is said, this kind of case is apparently not very rare, occurs around 600 times a year in the United States.