Erbe ERBOTOM ICC 350 M, Instruction Manual

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3-7
During cutting procedures, forced coagulation and spray coagulation, the unavoidable electric
arcs between an active electrode and the tissue nevertheless have the effect that a portion of the
high-frequency alternating current is rectified, from which more or less strongly modulated,
low-frequency current components result which stimulate electrically stimulable structures such
as nerves and muscles.
This can result in more or less strong spasms or muscle contractions.
WARNING
When using high-frequency surgery on electrically stimulable structures, contractions of the
affected muscles must be taken into account. This can occur, for example, during endoscopic
operations in the urinary bladder in the vicinity of the obturator nerve and during operations in
the area of the facial nerve.
3.4 Cardiac pacemaker
For patients with implanted cardiac pacemakers or pacemaker electrodes, irreparable damage to
the pacemaker and disturbance of the pacemaker function, which can lead to ventricular fibrilation,
must be reckoned with.
3.5 Danger of explosion
High-frequency surgical units always generate sparks during operation on the active electrode.
For this reason, it is necessary to make certain during interventions that anesthetics, degreasers
and disinfectants are neither flammable nor explosive. They should at least have evaporated
completely before switching on the high-frequency surgical unit and be removed from the area
of spark formation.
3.6 Interference with other electronic equipment
High-frequency surgical units normally generate high-frequency electrical voltages and currents
which can interfere with other electronic equipment.
When installing or arranging sensitive electronic equipment in the operating room, this problem
should be taken into consideration. In principle, sensitive electronic equipment should be set up
as far as possible from the high-frequency surgical unit and particularly from the cables providing
HF current. In addition, the cables providing HF current, which act like broadcast antennas,
should not be unnecessarily long and should never be positioned parallel or too close to cables
from sensitive electronic equipment.
The unit has been fitted with a special generator in consideration of the disturbance of sensitive
electronic equipment, which generates a relatively low interference level as compared to
conventional high-frequency surgical units.