Unfortunately, surgery is something that most people will have to undergo at one point in their life or another. Surgery is an operation on the body that is intended to fix a malfunctioning part.
These operations can range from minor to severe. The instruments that are used for a particular surgery can make a significant difference in the procedure.
Electrosurgery is one tool used in surgery. It uses various shapes and sizes of electrodes to deliver electrical energy as a means to cut, fulgurate and desiccate tissues during the operation.
Fulguration is a fancy word for using sparks to dessicate tissues. Most commonly, tumors and other harmful tissues are the target of fulgueration during a surgery.
Desiccation is a fancy word for drying up. Electricity has been used in the operation room as a form of cutting, fulguerating, and desiccating tissues for many years.
However, further research and studies have refined it. As a result, safer and better pieces of equipment have been developed.
When these pieces of equipment are used, the surgery is often more effective. However, the safety of the patient is the number one concern of all in the operating room.
This means that everyone who is in the operating room needs to know how all of the equipment works, to avoid the potential for a mistake to occur. An electrical current is made by the electrons that orbit the atoms when they jump from one atom to another.
Electricity can be very dangerous if it is used incorrectly. During electrosurgery a generator is used to convert electricity that comes out of the wall into a different form of electricity that can be used for surgery.
This form of electricity has a very high frequency which over 300,000 cycles per second, compared to the current delivered to household appliances at 60 cycles per second. High frequency energy avoids neruo muscular stimulation.
When you are dealing with electricity, there are several terms you should know. If you have taken any kind of physics or chemistry class you are probably somewhat familiar with these terms.
The first term you may or may not be familiar with is 'current.' The current is determined by how many electrons move past a certain point during a second.
The unit of measurement used for current is amperes or amps. Conventional surgery typically uses current levels below one amp.
The second term that you may or may not be familiar with is 'circuit.' A circuit is the path that the electricity takes.
Most often the circuit is a combination of wires along which the electricity flows. These wires are present in even the most basic forms of technology that depend on electricity.
In monopolar surgery the current travels from the electrosurgical generator, to the active electrode, into the patient, through the patient, to the dispersive (return electrode), and back to the generator to complete the circuit.
The third term that you may or may not be familiar with is 'voltage.' Voltage is the power that moves electric current past various forms of resistance.
Voltage is measured in terms of volts. There are many levels of resistance that electricity may face on its travels along a circuit.
Resistance is anything that hinders the flow of current in a circuit. It is typically measure in ohms. In electrosurgery resistance to the flow of current is termed impedance.
The next term is 'power.' Power is the amount of energy that an electric current can give off during a certain amount of time.
The last term you should be familiar with is 'capacitance.' Capacitance is how well a circuit can transfer an electrical charge from one conductor to another conductor.
The capacitance number also includes how well this transfer can be made when there is an insulator present.
The current density also plays a role in electrosurgery. The electrosurgical energy delivered through a needle is . an example of high current density, while a ball electrode has a lower current density.
The higher the current density the "hotter" the electrosurgical utensil is. The "hotter" the tool is, the greater effect it will have on the tissue response, unless the power is turned down..
Precision is vital to the success of a surgery. Whether or not the correct tools are used and whether they are used correctly can influence the outcome of a surgical procedure.
Author Resource:-
Tommy Greene has worked in surgical equipment sales for the past 15 years. He has great advice and information on an Electrosurgical.
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