Patient Safety - Aesculap Nelson delux GN 640 Mode D'emploi

Patient safety

Danger from inadequate preparation or operational
errors in the HF device!
Be sure that the HF device is in perfect working
DANGER
order.
Be sure that no conductive fluids (e.g. blood,
amniotic fluid) have entered the foot pedal or
the hand switch.
Be sure there is no short circuit in the cable of
the foot pedal or the hand switch.
Risk of the patient incurring burns arising from ac-
cidental activation of the HF device!
Switch off the HF device immediately, if it was
DANGER
activated accidentally, using the OFF switch
.
Always exercise extreme caution when using the
foot pedal and/or the hand switch.
Always be sure to do the following:
Bed 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 capac-
ity against ground (e.g. operating table, fixtures).
If necessary, interpose antistatic drape.
Be sure that the patient does not come in contact with any damp
cloths, drape 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
contact with the torso.
Siphon off urine with a catheter.
When operating on the open heart, ground the HF device via the
potential equalization device.
Prior to performing HF surgery on patients who wear pacemakers,
consult with the attending cardiologist in order to safeguard
against irreparable damage to, or failure of, the pacemaker device.
If possible, remove from the vicinity of HF electrodes any electrodes
from physiological monitoring devices that are not equipped with
protective 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 high-frequency elec-
trodes as short as possible, and arrange them in such a way that
they do not touch the patient or each other.
34
High frequency surgical device
To avoid unwanted coagulation in other areas of the body when
performing surgery on small parts of the body and on such high-
resistance areas as bones and joints: Use bipolar technique in those
areas.
Always set the power output of HF devices to as low a level as pos-
sible.
In the event that the standard settings do not yield satisfactory re-
sults, be sure that:
– neutral electrodes are properly emplaced.
– the operational electrodes are clean.
– devices are plugged in and connected properly.
Set the acoustic signal that sounds when an electrode is activated
at a volume that makes the signal easy to hear.
Never put down an active electrode on or next to the patient.
Set aside active electrodes that are not needed in such a way that
they do not come in contact with the patient.
In operations where continuous contact between the electrodes
and the patient cannot be avoided (e.g. endoscopic operations), ac-
tuate OFF switch
after an accidental activation.
Do not remove hot electrodes from the patient's body immediately
after performing cutting or coagulation procedures.
DANGER
Application of the neutral electrode
In the monopolar HF technique, the neutral electrode serves to con-
duct the current introduced to the body at the operation site back to
the HF device.
Typically, either reusable neutral electrodes made of conductive rub-
ber, or self-adhesive disposable electrodes are usually used. Both of
these types of electrodes are quite suitable for use on uneven body
surfaces.
To avoid a temperature rise at the exit point of the current, the follow-
ing conditions must be ensured:
• Contact surfaces of adequate size between neutral electrodes and
the body.
• High electrical conductivity between the neutral electrodes and
the body.
15 immediately to switch off the HF device
Risk of injury to the patient due to an unintended
rise of the HF output power in case of any fault in
the HF device!
Stop using the device immediately if even the
slightest functional anomaly is detected.
(GN 640)