Despite understanding the harmful elements of surgical smoke and evidence-based approaches to control surgical smoke, healthcare professionals are still exposed to surgical smoke. It is essential to determine the possible damages of surgical smoke during the operation and minimize them.

The present study thus determined the surgical smoke protection status of health professionals working in the operating room.

The study population comprised health professionals (N = 206) working in the operating rooms of three hospitals in Istanbul. The sample included those with a minimum of 6 months of work in the operating room between August 2016 and April 2017 and was willing to participate in the study. The number of samples formed 67.8% (n = 139) of the population. 

The study observed-

• 82.7% of the sample group did not receive training on surgical smoke
• A surgical mask (61.6%) was the most commonly used method of protection
• The first three symptoms frequently experienced by health professionals after surgery were fatigue (72.8%), headache (64.7%), and eye burning (43.4%), respectively.

This study shows that healthcare professionals working in the operating room encounter surgical smoke-related problems but do not use effective methods to avoid the effects of surgical smoke.

Çavdar I, Özhanlı Y, Karaman A, Özbaş A, Daştan C, et al. Protection Status of HealthcareProfessionals Working in the Operating Room from Surgical Smoke. Int J Surg Res Pract. 2022; 9:140. doi.org/10.23937/2378-3397/1410140