Nearly 15 years ago, the the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released its report, To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System, which documented almost countless medical errors that produce significant harms to patients. Since then, physicians have partnered with healthcare institutions and government agencies in concerted efforts to reduce medical errors.
Fires in the operating room are among the most potentially catastrophic medical errors. Select ENT procedures are at relatively higher risk of this rare complication, and key otolaryngology thought leaders have taken active roles in efforts to reduce the incidence of surgical fires. Soham Roy, MD, an associate professor in our Department and pediatric ENT director at Children's Memorial Herman Hospital, has developed a model for airway fires. Recently, he was appointed as a medical consultant for the FDA's Preventing Surgical Fires Initiative. In this ORL Progress Notes, we highlight his work.
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