Physical and biological considerations militating against the use of endoscopically applied high-frequency current in the abdomen.

Abstract

In general surgery, high-frequency current is a routine method of producing destructive heat for hemostasis. The so-called "skin effect" prohibits any electric reactions into the human nervous or muscle tissue. When using high-frequency current in the closed abdominal cavity, the nature of the current forces is to go unpredictable ways. This fact provokes unforeseen damage (bowel, ureter, skin burns) which are method-induced and cannot be excluded even with extreme care in the handling of the high-frequency current during tubal sterilization or other endoscopic haemostasis procedures. All biological and physical data are presented that support the demand that high-frequency current must be excluded from pelviscopy e.g. laparoscopy, and a new technique called "endocoagulation" is described, which can replace the intraabdominal use of high-frequency current during pelviscopy.