Erbe 10128-002, Instruction Manual

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3-2
3.1.2 Unintentional activation of an HF generator
Unintentional activation of an HF generator can lead to burns on the patient if the active electrode
hereby touches the patient directly or indirectly through electrically conductive objects or wet
cloths.
Unintentional activation of an HF generator can, for example, be caused by:
Ÿ
Unintentionally pressing a footswitch pedal
Ÿ
Unintentionally pressing a fingerswitch
Ÿ
Defective fingerswitches, footswitches or cables
Ÿ
Penetration of electrically conductive liquids (blood, amniotic fluid, urine, physiological
saline solution, irrigation fluids etc.) into fingerswitches or footswitches.
Ÿ
Errors within the high-frequency surgical unit
WARNING
!
To prevent burns on the patient due to unintentional activation of a high-frequency generator, the
following application rules should be heeded:
Ÿ
Never lay active electrodes onto or beside a patient in such a way that they can touch the
patient directly or indirectly through electrically conductive objects or wet cloths.
Ÿ
The lines to the active electrodes should be positioned in such a way that they touch
neither the patient nor other lines.
Ÿ
Always set the acoustic signal, which indicates the active status of the high-frequency
generator, so that it can be easily heard.
Ÿ
For operations in which the cutting or coagulation electrode unavoidably remains in contact
with the patient even in a nonactive condition, e.g. for endoscopic operations, particular
care is required. If such an electrode is unintentionally activated due to an error, this activated
electrode should then not be removed from the body without special supervision. When
removing the activated electrode from the patient’s body, burns can result on all areas
within the body which come into contact with the activated electrode. For this reason, in
case such errors occur, the power switch for the high-frequency surgical unit should be
switched off immediately before an attempt is made to remove the activated electrode
from the body.