Hemostatic bi-polar electrosurgical cutting apparatus and methods of use.

摘要

A surgical instrument is described that incorporates bipolar electrodes on opposing shearing members (21,31) for passing a high frequency current through the tissue for causing hemostasis of the tissue and for cutting the tissue. An electrically insulating material (13) is interposed between the shearing members so that the electrodes are spaced apart from .002 to 0.050 inches and the current passes between the opposing electrodes through the tissue and not between the opposing shearing surfaces (22,32). The insulating material (13) has a higher hardness than the opposing members to reduce wear of the insulation and provide a self-sharpening feature. The use of a constant voltage high frequency power supply to deliver current to the tissue to cause hemostasis is described.