Patient Safety During Laparoscopic Electrosurgery
During the past two decades, the number of minimally invasive laparoscopic surgical procedures has risen dramatically, offering patients and surgeons important benefits such as faster recovery times, reduced hospital stays, and lower healthcare costs. The most popular laparoscopic technique for cutting and coagulating (clotting) tissue is monopolar electrosurgery--preferred by the majority of laparoscopic surgeons over other alternatives such as bipolar electrosurgery, lasers, and the harmonic scalpel. Though versatile, popular, and cost effective in a number of procedures such as cholecystectomies, appendectomies, hernia repairs, and bowel resections, the combination of monopolar electrosurgery and laparoscopy can be dangerous and can compromise patient safety if the electrical current is not shielded and monitored properly. Burns to non-targeted tissue and organs caused by stray electrical energy can lead to organ perforation, infection, and even death if not recognized and treated in time.
ElectroScope, Inc. (Boulder, Colo.), has pioneered a method to ensure patient safety during laparoscopic electrosurgery and thereby opened the door for further expansion of minimally invasive surgical (MIS) procedures. The company's Electroshield® System is an integrated system that uses Active Electrode Monitoring (AEMTM) to eliminate the danger of stray electrical energy during monopolar electrosurgery in MIS.
For more information on this subject, you may download the files listed below. If you would like printed copies of this material please e-mail us your request.
Unless otherwise indicated, all files are in text format.
Available Materials
White Paper
Issues Video
- Avoiding Electrosurgical Injury During Laparoscopy: An Emerging Patient Safety Issue
If you would like a copy of this video, please e-mail us your request.
Laparoscopy Risk Report Newsletter
- Vol. 1, No. 1 (1997)--Table of Contents--Patient Safety During Laparoscopic Electrosurgery; The Medicolegal Consequences of Undetected Thermal Injury; Literature Update
- Vol. 1, No. 2 (1997)--Table of Contents--Risk Prevention Measures in Laparoscopic Electrosurgery, Arizona Physician Insurer Launches Model Risk Management Program, Literature Update
Press Kit
- Fact Sheet--Preventing Laparoscopic Electrosurgical Injury
- Issues Backgrounder--Inadvertent Tissue Injury During Laparoscopic Monopolar Electrosurgery
- Technology Backgrounder--Shielding and Monitoring Against Tissue Injury During Laparoscopic Monopolar Electrosurgery
- Illustrations--Undetected Thermal Injury During Laparoscopic Electrosurgery
- Glossary of Terms
- Corporate Backgrounder--ElectroScope, Inc.
- Management Backgrounder--ElectroScope, Inc.
- Photo--Electroshield® Active Electrode Monitoring System
News Release
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