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Chapter-17 Electrosurgery

BOOK TITLE: ACS(I) Textbook on Cutaneous and Aesthetic Surgery

Author
1. Sarkar Rashmi
2. Nair Vivek
ISBN
9789350258903
DOI
10.5005/jp/books/11651_17
Edition
1/e
Publishing Year
2012
Pages
10
Author Affiliations
1. Maulana Azad Medical College and Lok Nayak Hospital, New Delhi, India, Lady Hardinge Medical College, New Delhi, India, Lady Hardinge Medical, College and Hospital, New Delhi, India, Lady Hardinge Medical College and Associated Kalawati Saran, Children’s Hospital, New Delhi, India, Lady Hardinge Medical College and Associated KSCH and SSK Hospital, New Delhi, India, Maulana Azad Medical College and Associated, Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital, New Delhi, India, Maulana Azad Medical College and Associated Hospitals, New Delhi, India, Maulana Azad Medical College and Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital, New Delhi, India, Maualana Azad Medical College and LN Hospital, New Delhi, India, Maulana Azad Medical College and Associated LNJP Hospital, New Delhi, India, Maulana Azad Medical College and LN Hospital, New Delhi, India; Pigmentary Disorders Society, New Delhi, India, Maulana Azad Medical College and associated LNJP Hospital, New Delhi, India, rashmisarkar@gmail.com, Maulana Azad Medical College an
2. Dr Nair’s Skin Clinic, FF-102, Spanish Court, Palam Vihar, Gurgaon, Haryana, India, Dr Nair’s Skin Clinic (Palam Vihar), Clinic Dermatech (Vasant Vihar and Gurgaon), Metro Hospital (Palam Vihar), New Delhi, India, Dr Nair’s Skin Clinic, Gurugram, Haryana, India, Dr Nair's Skin Clinic and Hair Transplant Center, Gurugram, Haryana, India
Chapter keywords

Abstract

The first true use of electrosurgery dates back to the last decade of the 19th century when Joseph River, a Parisian physician, used an arcing current to treat a cutaneous carcinoma. Franz Nagelschmidt had used electrical current for treating patients with articular and circulatory problems before this, but this utilized the deep heating effect of current (diathermy), as opposed to the superficial destructive effects typical of electrosurgery. During the early 1900s, another physician named Simon Pozzi coined the term “fulguration” to describe the use of high frequency, high voltage, low amperage current to treat skin cancers. Doyen furthered the technique by introducing a grounding plate in the circuit, which allowed deeper penetration of the current—a technique he termed electrocoagulation (EC). A decade later, William Clark coined the term dessication to describe the effect when tissues were destroyed by dehydration. This required a current with a higher amperage and lower voltage than that used for fulguration and coagulation. William T Bovie developed the modern electrosurgical device in the 1920’s. This was used for the first time by Dr Harvey Cushing at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston, on October 1, 1926, to successfully remove an enlarging, vascular myeloma from the head of a 64-yearold patient. The low powered Hyfrecator, meant for regular office use, was introduced in 1940. Electrosurgery remains an indispensable tool for the modern dermatologist. Despite the increasing use of ablative lasers, these remain out of reach for many practitioners and institutions. The humble electrosurgical machine therefore remains important because of its portability and inexpensiveness.

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