Surgical Diathermy
This is the use of electricity to generate heat in tissues. For the surgeon, the heating to be enough to vaporize or coagulate the tissue. The electricity has to be of high frequency, usually referred to as radio-frequency .This is because it falls into the range of frequencies used for wireless transmissions. One of the main values of the high frequency is that it is too fast to stimulate nervefibers. This means that you don’t get spasm or paralysis of muscle. To avoid these unwanted effects, you need frequencies greater than 100 kHz. Diathermy units use frequencies from 500 kHz (500,000 cycles per second) to 2 MHz (2 million cycles per second). Types of diathermy There are two types used in surgery: unipolar and bipolar. Unipolar this is the type of diathermy that is most often used in ...