Electrosurgery is a vital part of medical care today, making it possible to move many procedures to an outpatient facility for the convenience of the patient and the medical care provider. The primary purposes of these tools include precise surgical cutting and coagulation at the incision, making them a valuable part of minor cosmetic procedures and intricate surgical procedures alike. It is important to take care when choosing electrosurgery accessories for the unit since choosing the right ones can help keep procedures efficient and not only minimize associated risks, but improve the patients outcome.
There are two modes of operation, the first of which is monopolar electrosurgery. In this type of surgery, energy completes a circuit beginning at the electrosurgical generator, going through the handpiece and the appropriate electrode, through the patient and exiting at the grounding pad and returning safely to the ESU. A variety of accessories may be useful in different procedures and situations for an optiumu outcome. The basic accessories include a blade, ball, needle or loop electrode. While typically a blade electrode is standard on most disposable pencils (handpiece), depending on the procedure, other electrodes may be more advantageous. In the case of a precise incision, surgeons frequently rely on a needle electrode since it can be operated at a lower power level while producing a very fine incision. Monopolar electrosurgery is the best and fastest mode for a cut procedure.
Bipolar electrosurgery is the other standard mode of operation. In this mode, power goes from the ESU to the forceps that restrict electrosurgical energy to a small area within the end of the device. There is no grounding pad required in this case, since one tip of the forceps acts as the active electrode and the other tip acts as the return electrode. Bipolar is considered by many to be the safer form of electrosurgery. However, it is more useful for coagulation than for a cut procedure.
Today's modern electrosurgical generator which has a pad sensing technology inside, and when used in conjunction with a split grounding pad, offers a very high level of safety for the patient, surgeon and staff. When properly placed and used, the ESU can determine if all of the energy is not being returned to the unit and immediately disabling it.
