Bill would require smoke evacuation systems in Wisconsin operating rooms
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Summary
Sen. Cabral-Guevara introduced Senate Bill 442 on Sept. 29, 2025, which would require hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers to adopt policies to prevent exposure to surgical smoke by requiring a smoke evacuation system during any surgical procedure likely to generate surgical smoke.
Sen. Cabral-Guevara introduced Senate Bill 442 on Sept. 29, 2025, which would require hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers to adopt policies to prevent exposure to surgical smoke by requiring a smoke evacuation system during any surgical procedure likely to generate surgical smoke. The bill was referred to the Committee on Health.
The bill creates 50.36 (1r) of the statutes and directs the Department of Health Services to require hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers (as defined in 42 CFR 416.2) to adopt and implement policies that require the use of a smoke evacuation system in the operating room during any surgical procedure likely to generate surgical smoke. The Legislative Reference Bureau analysis included with the bill states that a "smoke evacuation system" means equipment that effectively captures and filters surgical smoke at the site of origin before the smoke contacts the eyes or respiratory tract of room occupants.
The bill defines "operating room" as a room used for surgical procedures requiring one or more incisions, and defines "surgical smoke" as the gaseous byproduct produced by energy-generating devices, including surgical plume, smoke plume, bio-aerosols, laser-generated airborne contaminants, or lung-damaging dust. The text states the Department shall require the policies described unless a health care provider performing a procedure concludes that using a smoke evacuation system is not necessary or advisable under the circumstances.
The bill text notes a state fiscal estimate will be printed as an appendix to the bill. The measure was introduced in the Senate and was referred to the Committee on Health for further consideration.
If enacted, the statute would place responsibility on the Department of Health Services to set a regulatory requirement for hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers to adopt policies that mandate use of smoke evacuation systems except when a provider documents that the system is not necessary or advisable.