Operating Room Description

According to the National Institute of Health, more than 15 million people in the United States have surgery each year. The operating room of a hospital or surgery center is an area that provides the environment and equipment necessary for performing surgical procedures in a sterile and efficient manner.

Environment

• The operating room is cool, clean and brightly lit. Since the risk of infection accompanies any surgical procedure, establishing and maintaining a sterile field, or an area that is free of microorganisms, is imperative. To create a sterile field, employees place sterile surgical drapes around the surgical site and sterile towels on tables that hold surgical instruments and other supplies needed for the operation. The patient represents the center of the sterile surgical field. Once the sterile surgical field is complete, anything that enters it must be sterile, including members of the surgical team.

Basic Equipment

• The operating table is located in the center of the operating room. Large lights above the table illuminate the surgical site without producing shadows. The machine used for administering anesthesia and a cart containing anything the anesthesiologist might need is at the head of the operating table. A stainless steel table holds the sterile instruments required to perform the procedure. An electrocautery machine is present for cauterizing, or sealing off, cut blood vessels to control bleeding. If the surgery requires it, specialized equipment, such as a heart-lung machine, also appears in the operating room.

Monitoring Equipment

• Monitoring equipment in the operating room alerts the surgical team of any adverse reactions the patient might experience. One electronic machine monitors heart and breathing rates. A pulse oximeter attached to the patient's finger determines the amount of oxygen in the blood. A cuff on the patient's arm that automatically inflates at regular intervals measures blood pressure.