During Surgery
4-8 Force 2 User’s Guide
Low Power Settings
The higher the power setting and the longer the activation time a surgical
procedure requires, the greater risk it poses for electrosurgical burns.
Keeping the power settings as low as possible during all electrosurgical
procedures minimizes the hazards by reducing the amount of current
delivered to the patient and reducing the demand placed on the patient
return electrode.
The following techniques keep power settings low during electrosurgery:
• Concentrate the current with a small active electrode. A needle
electrode can often cut as well as a blade, but at lower power settings.
• Use fulguration rather than desiccation to coagulate tissue. Although
fulguration sparks to tissue using a high voltage waveform, it can
coagulate tissue with less current and put less demand on the return
electrode.
• Cut by sparking tissue and not desiccating tissue. Sparking cuts
cleanly and quickly and delivers less current to the patient than
desiccation.
• Use bipolar output because it requires less power and limits the
amount of tissue involved in the electrosurgical circuit.
Low Voltage Coag
Low voltage coag is primarily designed for use with monopolar
desiccation. Output power is limited to 99 W at a reduced voltage.
To activate low voltage coag, press and hold the Ready button, and press
the Coag Power Down button on the front panel. The generator responds
by displaying an “L” in the hundred's digit of the coag power setting
display.
To change the coag mode once low voltage coag has been activated:
Hold the Ready button and press the Coag Power Down button, just as
low voltage coag was activated originally.
The “L” in the coag power setting display disappears, signalling that the
coag mode with the higher voltage (high crest factor) is set for fulguration.
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