The suction nozzle should be as close as possible to the surgical site (per ANSI) and no further than 2 inches away (per CDC). In this video, you will see some great examples of proper suction nozzle position by Drs. L. Kundel DMD; P. Rubin DMD; M. Shulman DDS; B. Sutter DMD; R. Winter DDS; S. Zaghi MD; and E. Zimmerman MD.
ANSI Z136.3 Standard for Safe Use of Lasers in Health Care (2018 Edition)[1] defines laser plume as one of the non-beam laser hazards since it contains viral, bacterial, and other cellular and aerosolized particulates, gaseous toxic compounds, etc. ANSI Z136.3 Standard also specifies safety measures to mitigate the laser plume hazards, i.e. the mandatory use of Local Exhaust Ventilation (LEV) device (e.g. wall suction devices in dental offices a.k.a. high volume evacuation devices and mobile/portable smoke evacuators in physicians’ and veterinarians’ offices) equipped with a proper filter (with ANSI Z136.3 Standard’s defined filtration at 0.12μm at 99.999% efficiency) and with wide aperture suction nozzle held as close as possible to the surgical site (no further than 2 inches per the CDC) to safely remove laser plume.[2]
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The safe removal of water spray dispersed laser plume is not covered by ANSI Z136.3 Standard for Safe Use of Lasers in Health Care (2018 Edition) - https://www.americanlaserstudyclub.org/blog/water-sprays-directed-at-and-dispersing-the-laser-plume/
Sources:
[1] The Laser Institue of America - "ANSI Z136.3 - Safe Use of Lasers in Health Care" - https://www.lia.org/resources/laser-safety-information/laser-safety-standards/ansi-z136-standards/z136-3
[2] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - "Control of Smoke From Laser/Electric Surgical Procedures" - https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/hazardcontrol/hc11.html
Published on June 11, 2020
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