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PUBLISHED 11/2011 Insulation Failure in Reusable Laparoscopic Electrodes In a recent study performed at four major U.S. urban hospitals, reusable laparoscopic instruments sets were randomly scanned and 71% of them were found to have at least one instrument with insulation failure.

PUBLISHED 11/2011 Reducing Waste at Your Facility - Every Little Bit Helps Are you concerned about our environment? Do you ever wonder what you can do to limit the amount of waste that goes into our landfills?

PUBLISHED 11/2011 ACE-ing Skin Incisions What if a surgeon could use a device that is always ''sharp'' (enough to provide an ideal skin incision), but never sharp enough to cause a sharps injury?

PUBLISHED 07/2011 Staying Current with Operating Room Technologies - Opportunities for Continuing Education As the pace of life continues to accelerate, there is less and less time for individuals to devote to continuing education. Whether you need a refresher on a current technology, training that provides continuing education credits, or training on a new product in the OR, you can often look to company Sales Representatives for continuing education.

PUBLISHED 07/2011 Advanced Cutting Technology Aids Orthopedic Procedures As technology advances, often times so does the complexity to the set-up and/or to the actual surgical procedure. The recent introduction of the ACE Blade® and Advanced Cutting Effect (ACE) Mode of the Mega Power® electrosurgical generator actually takes complexity out of procedures while bringing significant advantages to the surgeon, staff, and patient.

PUBLISHED 07/2011 Monitor Interference, A Fuzzy Topic? Have you ever wondered why monitors in the OR sometimes get ''fuzzy'' or have interference?

PUBLISHED 07/2011 Long Activation Times with Traditional Return Electrodes When using electrosurgery, it is important for the entire healthcare team to be aware of the risks associated with this technology. One area that is often not addressed in basics of electrosurgery is the use of the duty cycle and prevention of increased power settings and long activation times with traditional ''sticky pad'' patient return electrodes.

PUBLISHED 04/2011 Basics of Electrosurgery Summary Regardless of the frequent use and familiarity of surgical team members with electrosurgery units and devices, safety issues and operational concerns continue to exist.

PUBLISHED 04/2011 A Quick-Guide to Product Benefits and Attributes When a medical device rep shows up, here are some tips on how to cut through the marketing spin and choose what is best for your surgical teams.

PUBLISHED 04/2011 Enhancing Patient Safety Through the use of Modified Electrosurgical Blades & Tips Surgeons are often required to operate in confined surgical sites.  The additional insulation of modified blades reduces the likelihood of unintended thermal injuries to surrounding tissues if the blade comes into contact with it.

PUBLISHED 04/2011 Modifying an Electrode Help protect your patient and have a real sense of security by using electrodes designed for tight spaces around delicate structures.

PUBLISHED 01/2011 Buzzing A Hemostat Most people assume the phenomenon of "shocks" while "buzzing" a hemostat is due to a hole in their glove or a faulty electrosurgical product. However, in most cases a change in technique will mitigate the occurance.

PUBLISHED 01/2011 ESU Age: When Do The Numbers Matter? When it comes to the age of equipment being used in the Operating Room. Putting off the replacement process could create many obstacles ranging from inconvenience to potential patient harm.

PUBLISHED 01/2011 Intraoperative Positioning The perioperative registered nurse needs awareness of how to position the patient safely in collaboration with the entire health care team. This is an expected standard of professional care.

PUBLISHED 01/2011 PTFE Coated Electrosurgical Blades PTFE makes surgery faster and safer! However, if it had not been for an accidental discovery in 1938 neither cooks nor surgeons would be enjoying the benefits of PTFE today.

PUBLISHED 10/2010 Technological Advancements in Electrosurgery enables Cookeville Regional Medical Center in Tennessee to Implement an Innovative Approach to Sharps Safety Like most medical facilities, Cookeville Regional Medical Center (CRMC) in Cookeville, Tennessee considers the risk of blood borne pathogens and sharp's safety to be a serious issue among staff and patients.

PUBLISHED 10/2010 Laparoscopic Electrosurgical Safety in Today's Peri-operative Environment Laparoscopy has had a significant impact on the way surgery is performed over the past two decades, evolving from investigational procedures to the standard of care in today's peri-operative environment.

PUBLISHED 10/2010 Minimally ''Destructive'' Surgery Linda is an attractive sixty year old woman who looks at least 10 years younger. Linda is mostly happy with how she has aged except for the scar she has on her belly.

PUBLISHED 10/2010 Understanding AORN's Recommended Practices for Electrosurgery Adherence to electrosurgical safety practice guidelines (such as those set forth by the Association of Peri-Operative Nurses' (AORN) in their Recommended Practices for Electrosurgery) is essential for patient and operating room personnel safety.

PUBLISHED 08/2010 Investigating Device-related "Burns" When skin injuries take place, they are often misdiagnosed as electrosurgical burns. It is essential to follow a thorough investigation process to determine the root cause of the event so that measures can be taken to prevent any future injuries.

PUBLISHED 08/2010 Updates to the 2010 AORN Recommended Practices for Electrosurgery Since the last review of the AORN Recommended Practices for Electrosurgery in 2005, there have been some key changes that are important for the perioperative nurse and healthcare team to understand. We outline these changes in this article.

PUBLISHED 08/2010 Advances in Electrosurgery Show Promise in Improving OR Safety, Efficacy and Efficiency For thousands of years the scalpel has been the surgeon's primary instrument in the OR for skin incisions. However, scalpel use is accompanied by concerns of sharp's safety and scalpel use is fairly limited to cutting tissue without offering any coagulation capabilities to stop bleeding. The new ACE cutting system overcomes the limitations of the scalpel for the first time.

PUBLISHED 08/2010 Surgical Smoke Evacuation: Are You Compliant? Kay Ball, PhD, RN, CNOR, FAAN Nurse Consultant/Educator Did you know that perioperative nurses have twice the incidence of some respiratory problems as compared to the general population?