Sacral neuromodulation (SNM) is a minimally invasive therapy for defecatory disorders. PEAK Plasma BladeTM (Medtronic) has been used as an alternative to the conventional electric scalpel and scissors in 3 procedures of neuromodulation. PEAK PlasmaBladeTM uses less total energy, operating at significantly lower temperatures than electrosurgical technology. No damage to the wires or pulse genera...

A few cases of fire in the operating room are reported in the literature. The factors that may initiate these fires are many and include alcohol based surgical prep solutions, electrosurgical equipment, flammable drapes etc. We are reporting a case of fire in the operating room while operating on a patient with burst fracture C6 vertebra with quadriplegia. The cause of the fire was due to incom...

Neutral electrodes (NE) are used in electro surgery for the return of the current to the ESU (electrosurgical unit); they are placed on the patient and monitored by a CQM (Contact Quality Monitoring) safety system that is incorporated in the ESU. In the paper the benefits and drawbacks of different CQM system are described. The Standard IEC 60601-2-2 requests volunteer experiments for NE testin...

During surgical procedures using a laser or electrosurgical unit, the thermal destruction of tissue creates a smoke byproduct. Research studies have confirmed that this smoke plume can contain toxic gases and vapors such as benzene, hydrogen cyanide, and formaldehyde, bioaerosols, dead and live cellular material (including blood fragments), and viruses. At high concentrations the smoke causes o...

Vaginal cuff dehiscence (VCD) after hysterectomy is an adverse event with potential severe morbidity. Although the data are limited, minimally invasive approaches to hysterectomy, such as total laparoscopic hysterectomy (TLH), may be associated with a higher risk of vaginal cuff dehiscence. The cause for these dehiscences is unknown, and multiple factors may be involved. Internationally, the et...

Metastatic small bowel cancers are extremely rare in clinical practice. Primary appendiceal adenocarcinoma with gastrointestinal metastasis is seldom reported in the literature. Here, we describe the case of an 80-year-old male patient with primary appendiceal adenocarcinoma, who presented to China Medical University Hospital with mid-gastrointestinal tract bleeding. Capsule endoscopy revealed ...

Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) is commonly diagnosed in women of child-bearing age. (Castle et al., 2009) The excisional treatments of CIN include cold-knife conization, laser conization, loop electrosurgical excision procedure (LEEP), and large loop excision of the transformation zone (LLETZ). CIN is also treated by ablative procedures such as laser vaporization and cryotherapy. Rece...

A 62-year-old woman, who had undergone left nephrectomy for renal cell carcinoma and had received interferon-alpha for metastasis to the lung, was hospitalized because of cough, dyspnea and anorexia 16 months after nephrectomy. Chest radiography showed collapse of the right lung. We performed bronchoscopy and found a red polypoid tumor completely obstructing the right bronchus. Biopsy specimens...

The pulsed electron avalanche knife (PEAK-fc, Carl Zeiss Meditec) is an electrosurgical cutting device that allows precise "cold" and traction-free tissue dissection. We describe its applicability and safety for anterior capsulotomy in a child with congenital cataract and an adult patient with mature cataract. The PEAK-fc was set at a voltage of 600 V and a pulse repetition rate of 80 Hz. Anter...