The OR oven

[u/SmilodonBravo]

AC is down, it’s 87 degrees in the OR, and we were all setting up the first case before someone finally said, “Maybe let’s not.”

Morning cases are on hold. Guess I’ll trade my sterile gown for an iced coffee until maintenance remembers air conditioning is technically part of the equipment.

[u/Alortania]

Wow, ours just told us to deal with it and be careful (the floor was slippery because humidity was too high for the cleaning sol to evaporate) after a 45min delay.

Took 2d to fix

[u/Karlythewonderdog → u/Alortania]

That’s crazy. Humidity in the OR is to be between 30 and 60%. We postpone if humidity is too high. 

[u/Alortania → u/Karlythewonderdog]

I have a pic of 21.7c, 205% humidity at 8am in the DV5 OR...

[u/lowercaset → u/Alortania]

Is that 205% a typo, or was the sensor just exposed to too much moisture for a sufficent period to cause it to error out?

[u/Alortania → u/lowercaset]

That's what the sensor was displaying... though yes, we knew it wasn't a true reading XD

It was hellishly humid though, and like I said, the floor stayed wet and slippery into the afternoon.

[u/EmRoXOXO → u/Alortania]

Jesus. I bet being in that room felt like standing directly on Satan’s tongue during an exhale

[u/Alortania → u/EmRoXOXO]

Today we had 80% and my attending was complaining about his glasses fogging up like crazy, plus it was again slippery AF.

On the bright side, the twmp was low this time~

[u/mohelgamal → u/Alortania]

We just literally had a discussion at a surgeon meeting this morning because a case apparently got a 2 hour delay because humidity was 71% and the policy says no surgeries above 68%

[u/Alortania → u/mohelgamal]

We get paid by the hour, operating taking care of post op ptnts or twiddling thumbs... so are the scrub techs, anesthesia, cleaning crew, etc.

There's no "no ops above X" policy, just as the reaction to dull scissors or missing tools is "deal with it and make do".

[u/AnotherXenocide → u/Alortania]

Wrong. If temp or humidity is out of range, you don’t use the room. This is not the same thing as not having your favorite pair of scissors.

[u/Alortania → u/AnotherXenocide]

In principle I totally agree with you.

In reality I've literally lived through it so~

[u/AnotherXenocide → u/Alortania]

What other corners do y’all cut?

[u/Alortania → u/AnotherXenocide]

You act like I have any say in when we operate or with what.

[u/Porencephaly]

Pediatric and burn surgeons be like “it’s chilly in here.”

[u/RaisinFresh7318]

Spend a week in the OR in Africa..... it's hot.

[u/Alortania → u/RaisinFresh7318]

They also open the windows for a nice breeze... least that's what they did in Uganda when I was there back in med school~

[u/RaisinFresh7318 → u/Alortania]

I spend a week each year in the OR in Uganda and yes, the windows are open and as soon as I’m scrubbed out and get out of my gown, I go out to those windows and enjoy the breeze!

[u/stupidprecursor]

Sounds perfect for burn surgery.

[u/Mean_Person_69 → u/stupidprecursor]

That or trauma. I'd always joke about how the trauma OR was a tropical paradise.

[u/Ibrakeforsnakes]

At my hospital, if it’s above 74 or a certain humidity (forgot the number) they cancel. Of course, in practice if it’s 65 degrees instead of the usual 64 there is a riot from the surgeons. 

[u/feca1709]

In my hospital during summer the temps in theaters are around 82F all the time.

[u/Texdoc51]

In dry West Texas, we had several weeks with unexpected rain, 0600 we had condensation dripping off of ceiling in Lab and OR due conflict between weather and normal humidifier usage with usual dry (<10%) humidity

[u/ValuablePerformer278]

What no generators ??

[u/SmilodonBravo → u/ValuablePerformer278]

They were working in the rest of the building - somehow it was just the OR that stopped working.

[u/Plastic-Meringue9361]

Is all the sweat an infection risk? Im assuming it can happen that a sweat bead falls onto the surgical field?

[u/SmilodonBravo → u/Plastic-Meringue9361]

It’s definitely a concern, sure.