ESUs are now a revolutionary part of the medical field. They have offered both patients and doctors peace of mind owing to their minimally invasive manner which also speeds up healing and reduces risk on internal bleeding and blood loss. However, because electricity is in use when these procedures are performed, there can be chances of other accidents happening which can be minimized and voided completely if adhered to the correct guidelines. Here are a few ways in which a safe operating environment for an ESU central surgery can be achieved. Have no metal lying aroundIn an operating room with electrosurgery equipment, it will be very hard to make sure that there is no other metal around because most of the hospital equipment sale have some sort of metal involved, what you can therefore do as a medic is to ensure that the devices do not come into contact with any metal substances while the surgery is happening. The burns that ESUs will give happen only if the doctor or the patient will come into contact with a grounded or earthed metal substance during the process. Check the patient and the surroundingsOften doctors will let patients know that electrosurgical test equipment and units will be in use for their procedure and to therefore remove any jewelry that they might be wearing. This means that the patient has to remove any rings, studs, and piercings anywhere in the body, watches, necklaces, earrings, bracelets and the likes. If they have dental fixtures which can be removed, instruct the patient to remove those as well.
However once the patient has been brought in, it is wise to double check if there is nothing on the patient that could cause them harm and also to check the surroundings of the patient and remove any exposed metal that might be present. Be mindfulWhen you are using the devices be very careful and precise. A careless move can mean that both the patient and staff are at risk for electrical burns. While being used in the surgical field, the electrode tip of the ESU needs to always be placed in the insulated container. This is mandatory. The surgeon must not hold the devise in overly close proximity to the tissue because a shock effect can happen in that case. The correct training of medical personnel and a lot of common sense can really help avoid any unintentional injuries that might occur in the operating room.
Make sure that the devices used whether ESU or not, are all used according to the instructions on the manuals and that all safety guidelines are fulfilled. It is also very important that the staff in the operating theatre are skilled at what they do.