4
Understand
proper place-
ment for disper-
sive electrodes.
Better education is
needed here, too.
Location is particular-
ly important, especial-
ly if patients have any
metal in their bodies.
You also want to make
sure there's good con-
tact — that electrodes
aren't on a part of the
body that has hair, or
on any bony promi-
nences. The best bet is to choose a relatively flat muscular area that's
fairly close to the surgical site and that won't bear the patient's weight
during surgery. It's also important to place electrodes in a location
that's not likely to come into contact with any fluids.
5
Choose the right instrument for the case. There are a few big
differences between monopolar and bipolar instruments, and
surgeons should think about the potential risks and benefits of
each in relation to each case.
For example, if I have a patient who has hardware, say a metal hip,
that's not that far from my operative field, I'd be concerned that the
metal is potentially in the path between my target tissue and the dis-
persive electrode path. In a case like that, I might use a bipolar instru-
S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 8 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y. N E T • 1 0 1
• SNUFF OUT SURGICAL SMOKE The smoke electrosurgical procedures produce is
unavoidable, but there's a nationwide push to make smoke evacuation mandatory.
Pamela
Bevelhymer,
RN,
BSN,
CNOR
