Power Outage

Most of the equipment in the operating room depends on electricity. Operating rooms are typically designed with dedicated and dependable sources of electricity; however, accidents can happen that disrupt the flow of electricity. Downstream effects in the operating room can lead to patient morbidity or mortality if unprepared. Successful management of this perioperative complication requires close communication between the surgery and anesthesia teams. This chapter will discuss equipment failure affected by a power outage, highlight alternative methods for maintaining ventilation and anesthesia during a power outage, discuss potential surgical complications of losing power during a procedure, and review strategies for performing surgery during a power outage. In addition, this comprehensive chapter contains the materials needed to develop and implement a successful simulation, including case scenario, narrative, and progression, as well as a scoring rubric for evaluation of perioperative management.