Patient safety
Danger to life due to inadequate preparation or
faults in the HF surgical device!
►
Check that the HF surgical device is in perfect
DANGER
working order.
►
Ensure that neither the foot switch nor the hand
switch has been penetrated by conductive fluids
(e.g. blood, amniotic fluid).
►
Ensure there is no short circuit in the foot or
hand switch cables.
Risk of burns suffered by the patient due to inad-
vertent activation of the HF surgical device!
►
DANGER
In case of any inadvertent activation of the HF
surgical device, switch off the device immedi-
ately at the "Device on/off" switch and pull the
mains plug.
►
Always exercise particular care when operating
the foot switch.
Risk of injury to the patient due to uncontrolled
rise of the HF output voltage due to some fault in
the HF surgical device!
DANGER
►
Stop using the HF surgical device as soon as it
shows even the slightest anomaly.
Risk of injury to patients/users due to defective
power cord or missing protective ground connec-
tions!
WARNING
►
Check the mains power cord/protective ground
connections.
Danger of neuromuscular stimulation through HF
use, in particular for operation modes that create
electric arcs between active electrodes and the tis-
WARNING
sue!
►
Select the lowest possible power output.
Always be sure to do the following:
►
Position the patient in such a way that s/he is not in contact with any
metal parts that are grounded or have a significant electric capacity
against ground (e.g. operating table, fixtures). If necessary, interpose
antistatic drape.
►
Ensure that the patient will not be in contact with any damp cloths,
drapes or bedding.
►
Lay anti-static drape against parts of the body that tend to develop
large amounts of sweat in order to safeguard against skin-to-skin con-
tact with the torso.
►
Siphon off urine with a catheter.
►
For patients with cardiac pacemaker or other active implants, consult
with the relevant medical specialist prior to applying HF surgery, so
that irreparable damage to the pacemaker or implant can be avoided.
►
If possible, remove from the vicinity of HF electrodes any electrodes
from physiological monitoring devices that are not equipped with pro-
tective resistors or HF dampers.
►
Do not use needle electrodes for intraoperative monitoring.
►
Arrange the wires and cables of monitoring devices in such a way that
they do not come in contact with the patient's skin.
►
Keep the pathways of the wires and cables of HF electrodes as short as
possible, and arrange them in such a way that they do not touch the
patient or each other.
►
Do not remove hot electrodes from the patient's body immediately
after performing cutting or coagulation procedures.
►
Never put down HF instruments or active electrodes on or next to the
patient.
►
Put down active electrodes that are not needed at any particular
moment, in such a way that they will not touch the patient.
►
Adjust the HF power output according to the intended surgical inter-
vention. taking into account clinical experience and reference param-
eters.
►
Always set the power output of HF devices to as low a level as possible.
►
Should the output power appear insufficient with the usual settings,
check that:
– the working electrodes are clean,
– all plug connections are properly in place.
►
In operations where continuous contact between the electrodes and
the patient cannot be avoided (e.g. endoscopic operations), switch off
the HF device immediately on the "Device on/off" switch after an acci-
dental activation.
►
Adjust the acoustic warning, which signals the activation of the elec-
trode, to such a level that it will always be heard without difficulty.
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