State investigators slammed NYU Langone Medical Center for lapses in safety procedures and communications that resulted in an operating-room fire while a patient was undergoing surgery, The Post has learned.
Probers cited a “communications failure between the surgeon and anesthesiologist,” who wasn’t aware a certain instrument would be used “in the presence of oxygen,” according to the state Health Department’s report on the 2014 blaze which was obtained by The Post under a Freedom of Information Law request.
“It was evident that the hospital failed to provide surgical services that conformed to current standards of practice,” the report said.
“When the surgeon used the [redacted] in the presence of oxygen, there was a spark escalating to a surgical fire.
It is even unclear how badly the patient was injured.The patient was receiving oxygen through a mask connected to a wall outlet.
Operating-room fires are estimated to happen between 550 and 650 times a year in the United States.
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