Intraoperative Electrode Burns
Overview
General Medicine
Medical Informatics
Authors
Affiliations
Objectives: The purpose of this paper is to increase awareness of electrode burns that occur in the operating room (OR), to discuss their causes, warning signs, and methods that may reduce their occurrence. Two general sources of electrical burns are described: 1) Excessive radio-frequency current density usually originating from a monopolar electrosurgical unit (ESU) and 2) Direct current (DC) originating from a battery or equipment malfunction.
Methods: Case examples associated with intraoperative neuromonitoring are provided and discussed in the context of the relevant literature. Seven cases are described, five associated with excessive radio-frequency current density and two associated with direct current originating from a battery or equipment malfunction.
Conclusions: Recommendations on prevention and warning signs associated with these burns are presented in addition to procedures to follow if a burn is suspected.
Burn Beneath Only One of 12 Electrodes Applied for Electrocardiographic Monitoring.
Ahuja R, Singh A, Ramam M Indian Dermatol Online J. 2024; 15(6):1017-1018.
PMID: 39640437 PMC: 11616927. DOI: 10.4103/idoj.idoj_799_23.
Safety assessment of electrosurgical electrodes by using mini pig tissue.
Zhang X, Trinh T, Chien P, Giang N, Zhou S, Nam S Heliyon. 2024; 10(15):e35266.
PMID: 39161807 PMC: 11332808. DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e35266.
Operating Light Burn in an Orthopaedic Surgery: A Case Report.
Bansal H, Veeresh V, Mittal S, Trikha V Indian J Orthop. 2022; 56(3):510-513.
PMID: 35251516 PMC: 8854489. DOI: 10.1007/s43465-021-00497-0.
Intraoperative motor evoked potential monitoring: overview and update.
MacDonald D J Clin Monit Comput. 2006; 20(5):347-77.
PMID: 16832580 DOI: 10.1007/s10877-006-9033-0.