Patient Having an Emergency Dissection Repair Catches Fire Inside the Chest

As the procedure began, doctors found that one lung was stuck to the chest bone forming bullae, which are like blisters and often occur with COPD. The surgeons punctured one of the blisters, causing an air leak. So that the patient wouldn't have trouble breathing, the anesthesiologist increased the amount of oxygen.

Fed by leaking oxygen, a spark from an electrocautery device set a dry surgical pack on fire. Doctors immediately put the fire out and continued with the procedure, successfully repairing the torn artery. The findings were presented at the 2019 European Society of Anesthesiology meeting in Vienna, Austria.