Electro

surgical
unit
P R E S E N T E D B Y: N O U R H A N K I R

GHENA JOUNY

HASSAN EZZDIN
 Importance of hemostasis
Hemo=blood Stasis=stop

1. Excessive blood loss is a surgical complication

2. Blood can occlude the surgeon’s vision

3. Bleeding can cause vasospasm

4. Blood loss needs to be minimized

No point in surgery if the patient bleeds to death!

introduction
An electrosurgical unit
is a device that uses
high-frequency (HF)
electrical currents to
cut or coagulate tissue
during surgery
 3000 b.c.
Egyptians Heated piece of iron
with fire and press it to a wound to
stop bleeding.
1920
Cushing and Bovie collaborated to
produce a device that used radio
frequency electric current for
coagulation.

History French physicist Becquerel first

used electrocautery.Rather than
using boiled oil to achieve
homostasis,he passed direct current
through a wire heating it and
effectively cauterizing tissue upon
contact.

1800
How does’t work?
frequency
coagulation
cutting
carbonisation
Bioheat equation
fulguration
There is no contact between active electrode and target issue.but electrode is
close enough to generate the spark
definition
Duty cycle
Coagulation vs cut
Cut vs coagulation
software
components
components
1. Generator:
-Provides source of electrical current to the active electrode.

-Control panel allows for power level and blend adjustments.

component
2. Active electrode :
-Referred to as the electrosurgical pencil.

-May be hand or foot controlled.

 component
3. Dispersive electrode:
-Also known as the grounding pad or inactive electrode.

-Placed on the patient to return the electrical current to the generator.

-As the current seeks for shortest and lesss resistive path to ground,user shoukd be aware that position of
patient return electrode should be as shorter as possible

-The larger the pad the more current will be dispersed

-Place over well vascularized,muscular area close to

the operative field

Types of electrodes
Cutting electrode
Coagulation electrode
Current density
Types of ESU
grounded
isolated
Isolated vs ground
Performance test

Return electrode current monitor

Return electrode monitoring
Return electrode monitoring
circuit test
Power distribution test
RF leakage current test
Mode of operation
Electrosurgical units are mainly used to cut or coagulate tissue. The cut and
coagulation can be performed using two techniques:

bipolar monopolar
monopolar
i. this technique uses a single active electrode which
will also act as a neutral electrode.
ii.  It transmits the HF current from the generator.
iii. When this electrode comes into contact with the
tissue, a high current density is transmitted.
iv. It is this high concentration of energy on a small
area that achieves the desired effect.
v. The current then flows through the patient’s body to
the neutral electrode.
vi. In this way the electrical circuit is closed.
 monopolar

advantage disadvantage
suitable for desiccating large Disadvantages: higher risk of
tissue masses electrocution,

◦ to reduce this risk it is important that the neutral electrode is correctly applied to
the patient
◦ this technique is not compatible with patients with metal implants or pacemakers.
 bipolar
Bipolar technique: the HF current arrives through an active electrode and exits through the neutral
electrode, without flowing through the patient’s body.
  The current flows directly from one tip of the forceps to the other.
bipolar

advantage disadvantage
this technique is safer than the monopolar not suitable for desiccating large tissue masses
technique as there is no risk of burning or
electrocution for the patient

this technique should be used for patients with

pacemakers
diagram
 companies
1. Aaron/bovie

2. Acoma

3. Commed

4. Erbe

5. Ellman

6. Olympus

7. Valley forge

8. valleylab
 advantage
I. The surgery occurs without blood loss
II. The wound heals quickly
III. No transmission of microbes during the operation
IV. Does’t leave a large scars after the wound healing
process
disadvantage
Surgical smoke:
Bacteries

Toxic gaz

For safety:
Smoke extraction system

Wear a mask

Hepa filter
 Clinical applications
Surgery plastic
Ophtalmic surgery
Remove small lesions,moles,fungus,bacteria,hair follicles
Surgeries involving removalof body parts,tissues
Endoscopic surgery: in this type of minimally invasive surgery, which is becoming
increasingly popular, bipolar electrosurgical cutting is widely used
Heart surgery: in heart and liver surgery, fulguration is mainly used
Dental or oral surgery: in the oral cavity, electrosurgery is used to stop bleeding and remove any
exophytic soft tissue tumor formations
Cosmetic or dermatological surgery: electrosurgery is used for skin removal, electric depilation
or the treatment of rosacea by electrocoagulation
 h a n k
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