Helium/H2O2 Atmospheric Pressure Plasma-Assisted Electrosurgery

• Published in: Plasma processes and polymers 2012-10, Vol.9 (10), p.1015-1019
• Main Authors: Choi, Myeong Yeol, Koo, Il Gyo, Kim, Paul Y., Kang, Sung Kil, Kim, Yoon-Sun, Jung, Jae-Chul, Collins, George J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: ablation; atmospheric pressure glow discharges (APGD); Electric discharges; electrosurgery; Exact sciences and technology; Glow; corona; Magnetic confinement and equilibrium; Physics; Physics of gases, plasmas and electric discharges; Physics of plasmas and electric discharges; Plasma applications; Tokamaks
• ISSN: 1612-8850; 1612-8869
• DOI: 10.1002/ppap.201200003

Electrosurgery (ES) is widely used by surgeons to dissect tissue and control bleeding. Electrosurgical devices achieve these effects through resistive heating of tissue that vaporizes cellular fluid to rupture cells and denatures proteins to produce a hemostatic coagulum. In this paper, the powered electrode of a 13.56 MHz atmospheric pressure plasma jet was employed in contact with tissue samples to vaporize or ablate tissue. In effect, monopolar ES was combined with plasma. We report both significantly higher tissue removal rate and lower electrical current flow through the tissue sample with plasma‐assisted ablation compared to conventional electrosurgical ablation at the same generator output power. Electrosurgery (ES) is combined with RF plasma discharge to enhance tissue ablation. ES is a widely used tool for thermally vaporizing or ablating tissue based on Joule heating of intracellular water by electrical current. Helium/H2O2 plasma in contact mode is shown to increase tissue removal with less current flow to the tissue compared to monopolar ES alone.