Minimizing Injuries With Electrosurgical Equipment
If personnel do not handle the machine's cords correctly
, it may result in breaks in the insulation, fraying, and other electrical hazards.The cord should be a proper length that allows for easy use and maneuvering.
Any kinks, knots, or bends in the wires has the potential to cause leakage, current accumulation, and insulation overheating.Pulling on the wire could cause it to break, or even cause a break in the electrical current.
It should not be tangled, twisted, or stretched in any way.Instead, it should be flexible and have a fair amount of slack to reach the patient table from the electrical outlet without any hassle.
Coiled cables can cause hot spots of electrical conduction, a strayed current, or a capacitive current.Any of these may result in burns or other injury.
Tension on the cord, which is caused by stretching, twisting, and tangling, may increase the risk of injury.The equipment should be placed near the sterile patient table and should not block the path of the doctor, nurses, or other medical personnel.
The wires should obviously be kept dry to prevent a shortage in an electrical circuit.The equipment should be checked before, during, and after every use for any insulation damage.
The machinery should not be used if there is any evidence of breaks, nicks, or cracks in the insulation or electrical cord.Use with any of the above problems could result in fire or patient and personnel injury.
Any type of unintentional activation, incomplete currents, or incompatible parts may result in injury.The active electrode should be thoroughly inspected before each use.
This inspection includes identifying any type of damage to the machinery, and ensuring that the active electrodes, accessories, and electrosurgical unit are all compatible with one another.Any failures in compatibility or insulation could result in the current taking an alternate path through the ground.
This may result in unexpected shock to the patient or personnel.If any problems are present in the unit, accessories, or electrodes, that equipment should be removed and not used.
When not in use, the active electrode should be stored in a clean, dry holster.The holster should be made of plastic or some other non-conductive material.
The safety holster helps prevent unintentional activation of the unit. Unintentional activation has been known to cause patient and personnel burns.
The handheld, battery-powered cautery should also have a protective cap placed on top of it when not in use.This prevents unintentional activation of the "On" button.
When needed, any accessories or adaptors should be compatible and approved by the original manufacturer.Only the user of the electrosurgical unit should activate the equipment.
Ensuring that only the user activates the equipment will help prevent unintentional activation of the machine, which will help prevent any type of injury.Users of the machinery should follow the manufacturer's instructions.
These instructions should be attached to and visible on the electrosurgical unit during use.The user should refer to and have a strong knowledge of these instructions before operating the equipment.
The tip of the active electrode should be securely fastened to the hand piece and not altered in any way.Any fabrication or alteration is not recommended, as it may result in problems to the machinery, or injury to the patient or personnel.
A loose electrode tip has been known to result in a spark.If tissue is exposed to a non-insulated section of a loose tip, it may result in burning of the tissue.
Bending the tip beyond manufacturers' recommendations can cause damage to the device and alter the function of the piece.Insulating the sheath with things like rubber catheters can also result in a fire or patient injury.
The active electrode tip should be used in its original form without any fabrication or alteration.Make sure that the tip is cleaned away from the patient if a buildup of eschar occurs.
by:Tommy Greene
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