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Tissue Effects Change as You Modify the Waveform
Electrosurgical Tissue Effects
Grounded Electrosurgical Systems
Isolated Electrosurgical Systems
Patient Return Electrode Monitoring Technology
Electrosurgery Safety Concerns During MIS
Capacitive Coupling During Endoscopy
Recommendations to Avoid Electrosurgical Patient Complications in MIS
Spectral Content of Surgical Smoke
Surgical Smoke
Spectral Content of Surgical Smoke
Surgical smoke is created when tissue is heated and cellular fluid is vaporized by the thermal action of an energy source.
Research has shown that smoke from electrosurgery is similar in content to that produced by a surgical laser. If you currently evacuate the plume from a laser, you should do likewise for smoke created by electrosurgical generators. Viral DNA, bacteria, carcinogens, and irritants are known to be present in electrosurgical smoke. Universal precautions indicate a smoke evacuation system should be used.
NIOSH (the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health) and the CDC (Center for Disease Control) have also studied electrosurgical smoke at length. They state:
“Research studies have confirmed that this smoke plume can contain toxic gases and vapors such as benzene, hydrogen cyanide, and formaldehyde, bioaerosols, dead and live cellular material (including blood fragments), and viruses.”