Just a vent

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i had a lousy day today. i got sent to the cath lab with folks that had never been there (i'd only been there once before). i was circulating a case where part of the iliac artery had to be punctured (instead of femoral) so that part of the aortic arch could be stented and a traumatic dissection could be repaired. turns out the iliac was so calcified we had to put in a graft, too. this person had external fix bilaterally, from toe to hip.

ok - so we get a back table all set up, patient comes into the room from sicu - no one told me (the circulator) she was contact/droplet precautions. great. i can manage that, though.

as we are beginning to count the back table, something, a large mote of dust falls from the ceiling onto the back table. this wasn't something microscopic, it was a giant dust-bunny. we had to scrap everything. i'm telling the cath lab manager that i really would like to change rooms so that they can figure out where this thing came from and clean the vents in the ceiling. no can do, he says. there are no other rooms. head cardiologist says, "just move the table to the other side of the room!" i object, but they forge ahead. :angryfire seething, i write up a quality report, and constantly monitor any possible crap falling from the ceiling. i feel like chicken little. case takes 6 hours to complete. patient still alive. i just feel drained. :bugeyes: tgif.

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Specializes in PeriOp, ICU, PICU, NICU.

So sorry to read about your frustrating day. :icon_hug:

At least you have us here to listen and you can get it off your system. Best wishes to you. :)

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Dust bunnies are a very bad thing in a sterile area, or in area for that matter.

Surprised that housekeeping there is not cleaning the vents more often.

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A dust bunnie? LOL! As a patient I'd be up outta that bed so fast!

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Hi Grimmy, don't feel so bad. I once had a spider drop down on my mayo during an Open Heart!! Talk about panic!!!

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Hi Grimmy, don't feel so bad. I once had a spider drop down on my mayo during an Open Heart!! Talk about panic!!!

OMG! I forgot about that...I was circing in case where a spider dropped onto our mayo (neuro case... don't they ever drop in on lipoma removals??)

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Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.

Let us know the results of the report. I'm hoping that this will enforce the cleanliness of a room, and not be swept under a rug (no pun intented).

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i wound up in the same room yesterday with many assurances that housekeeping and biomed had gone through the vents with "a fine toothed comb." no problems during our case, which was actually really interesting, and i was scrubbed (love scrubbing!). what i don't love is wearing all the lead for all the fluoro, but c'est la vie. i sweat buckets, though. the quality reports don't come out until weeks later (of course), but the angio chief thanked me for being a trooper, etc, etc. if he didn't have such a smooth aussie accent (which tends to make me swoon anyway)....i digress...i need a date! :rolleyes:

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Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.

Ooooo, Aussie accent! :D Anytime we get pts with thsoe accents, i always hope they talk a lot just so i can listen to it lol.

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