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Concept
Electrosurgery
Summary
Electrosurgery is the application of a high-frequency (radio frequency) alternating polarity, electrical current to biological tissue as a means to cut, coagulate, desiccate, or fulgurate tissue. (These terms are used in specific ways for this methodology—see below.) Its benefits include the ability to make precise cuts with limited blood loss. Electrosurgical devices are frequently used during surgical operations helping to prevent blood loss in hospital operating rooms or in outpatient procedures.
In electrosurgical procedures, the tissue is heated by an electric current. Although electrical devices that create a heated probe may be used for the cauterization of tissue in some applications, electrosurgery refers to a different method than electrocautery. Electrocautery uses heat conduction from a probe heated to a high temperature by a direct electrical current (much in the manner of a soldering iron). This may be accomplished by direct current from dry-cells in a penlight-type device.
Electrosurgery, by contrast, uses radio frequency (RF) alternating current to heat the tissue by RF induced intracellular oscillation of ionized molecules that result in an elevation of intracellular temperature. When the intracellular temperature reaches 60 degrees C, instantaneous cell death occurs. If tissue is heated to 60–99 degrees C, the simultaneous processes of tissue desiccation (dehydration) and protein coagulation occur. If the intracellular temperature rapidly reaches 100 degrees C, the intracellular contents undergo a liquid to gas conversion, massive volumetric expansion, and resulting explosive vaporization.
Appropriately applied with electrosurgical forceps, desiccation and coagulation result in the occlusion of blood vessels and halting of bleeding. While the process is technically a process of electrocoagulation, the term "electrocautery" is sometimes loosely, nontechnically and incorrectly used to describe it. The process of vaporization can be used to ablate tissue targets, or, by linear extension, used to transect or cut tissue.
Official source
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