What are the safety precautions to be considered with the placement of the patient return electrode?

Choose a location for the return electrode/dispersive pad that is as close to the operative site as possible, clean and dry, well vascularised, and over a large muscle mass. Avoid bony prominences, adipose tissue, scar tissue, skin over implanted metal prostheses, hairy surfaces, and pressure points.

What is a bovie pad used for?

The electrosurgical unit, or Bovie, is a surgical device used to incise tissue, destroy tissue through desiccation, and to control bleeding (hemostasis) by causing the coagulation of blood.

What is a pad site burn?

Pad-site (return electrode) burns. This is a burn that occurs at the adhesive patient return electrode pad. The electrical current passes through the electrosurgical instrument (e.g., surgical pencil), through the patient, then returns to the generator through the return electrode.

Where are the grounding pad placed?

To reduce the risk of this complication, grounding pads should ideally be positioned over dry, shaven and well-vascularized tissue surfaces, to maximize the contact area of the return electrode and reduce the heat of the underlying tissues.

What is a bovie burn?

Electrocautery is a surgical technique which uses high frequency current to remove unwanted tissue, cauterize a blood vessel or make an incision. Electrocautery was invented by Dr. Bovie and so his name is often used interchangeably with this technique.

How does a bovie work?

Bovie for their incredible invention. ESU’s are used for surgical cutting or to control bleeding by causing coagulation (hemostasis) at the surgical site. They deliver high-frequency electrical currents and voltages through an active electrode, causing desiccation, vaporization, or charring of the target tissue.

How does a grounding pad work in surgery?

A small probe with an electric current running through it is used to burn or destroy the tissue. A grounding pad is placed on the body (usually the thigh) before the surgery to protect the person from the harmful effects of the electricity.

What is a bipolar cautery?

n. Cauterization using a high frequency electrical current passed through tissue from one electrode to another.

How does a megadyne pad work?

Is cauterization a surgery?

Cauterization is a routine surgical procedure. It heats the body’s tissues using electricity in order to stop bleeding, remove abnormal growths and prevent an infection.

Is electrocautery a laser?

Electrocautery also provides improved hemostasis, but the mechanisms involved differ from those of laser. Despite the thermal damage it causes, it enhances hemostasis by means of blood vessel sealing before cutting.

How do you treat an electrode burn?

Try to prevent the injured person from becoming chilled. Apply a bandage. Cover any burned areas with a sterile gauze bandage, if available, or a clean cloth. Don’t use a blanket or towel, because loose fibers can stick to the burns.

What is a diathermy pad?

In clinical practice, the standard patient return electrode is commonly referred to as a diathermy pad. 2.4 A standard disposable single-use patient return electrode forms a resistive circuit and the direct electrical connection relies on good contact with the patient.

How do you prevent diathermy burns?

Recommendations to reduce unintended intraoperative electrocautery burns have been previously documented in the literature and include the following: using isolated electrosurgical units, avoiding or minimizing contact between the patient and operative instruments and theatre devices, avoiding activation of the …

What is the difference between monopolar and bipolar cautery?

There is one basic difference between bipolar and monopolar techniques. With monopolar electrosurgery, a probe electrode is used to apply the electrosurgical energy to the target tissue to achieve the desired surgical effect. … With the bipolar electrosurgical method a bipolar device, often a set of forceps, is used.

Why the return electrode or dispersive electrode must placed near to the surgical site?

If there is any metal in the body of the patient, the return electrode is placed on the opposite side of the body from the metal and be placed between the metal and the operation site. This prevents current from passing selectively through metal on the way to the return electrode.

Can you get burned during surgery?

Burns which occur during surgery can be severe, destroying the upper (epidermis) and lower (dermis) layers of the patient’s skin, and even extending into the fat and muscle tissues below. A 3rd-degree burn may destroy the skin’s sweat glands, hair follicles and nerve-endings.

Why are rings taped during surgery?

If the piercing(s) cannot be removed then the jewellery should be taped to prevent loss or snagging. If the body piercing does not present a risk to the patient during surgery or anaesthetic, then it should be covered / taped to prevent loss or snagging.

What is it called when you burn a wound closed?

Cauterization, or cautery, is a medical technique performed by a doctor or surgeon. During the procedure, they use electricity or chemicals to burn tissue in order to close a wound.

How do you use Bovie cautery?

Does cautery leave scar?

Scars. Curettage and cautery of a skin lesion always leaves some degree of scarring as it is not possible to curette the skin without this happening. The lesion will have to be treated by the dermatologist to ensure scarring is kept to a minimum.

Which electrosurgical mode has the highest maximum output power?

Cutting mode employs a continuous current with the highest maximum output power and lowest peak voltage compared to other modes. It results in minimal lateral heat spread and tissue damage.

Does electro surgery leave scars?

The clinical situation will determine which mode of electrosurgery is appropriate to use. If only the epidermis needs treatment, electrodesiccation would be a good choice as it results in very little or no scarring. Electrodesiccation causes very superficial tissue damage by dehydrating the treated skin.

What is a grounding pad made of?

Disposable grounding pads are made of a plastic base material that is covered with a metal film that serves as the actual electrode surface.

Does electrosurgery hurt?

Electrosurgery cuts extremely rapidly when compared to a diode laser. When on the proper setting, hemostasis is almost immediate. Assuming the electrode is cleaned frequently while operating, the cutting consistency, speed, and depth of cuts are very good. After cutting, the wound is nearly painless.

When is bipolar cautery used?

Bipolar electrosurgery uses lower voltages so less energy is required. But, because it has limited ability to cut and coagulate large bleeding areas, it is more ideally used for those procedures where tissues can be easily grabbed on both sides by the forceps electrode.

When is bipolar diathermy used?

The current is then passed between the electrodes. Bipolar is most commonly used in operations of the digits (to avoid monopolar current focused over a smaller region), in patients with pacemakers (to avoid electrical involvement with the pacemaker), or in microsurgery.

What do bipolar mean?

Bipolar disorder, formerly called manic depression, is a mental health condition that causes extreme mood swings that include emotional highs (mania or hypomania) and lows (depression). When you become depressed, you may feel sad or hopeless and lose interest or pleasure in most activities.

What is bipolar stimulation?

the activation of a particular neuron or part of the brain through the use of an electrical current generated by a cathode and anode (see electrode) placed relatively close to each other.