Development of an Electrocautery Surface Coating Method to Suppress Surgical Smoke

The effectiveness of silicone coatings in preventing coagulated blood adhesion has already been established; however, the coatings’ influence on the generation of surgical smoke has yet to be elucidated. In an electrical circuit model, a proposed model of increased electrical resistance due to coagulated blood adhesion encompasses the electrode, silicone coating, and discharge target. To investigate the viability of an electrocautery surface coating that suppresses surgical smoke, smoke generation was analyzed via discharge experiments using electrocautery tip electrodes with different cross-sectional shapes and electrodes with no coating. The different coated electrodes A (fully covered and thicker than B), B (fully covered), C (side exposed), and uncoated electrode D were evaluated. The particle counts for coated electrodes A, B, C, and D showed approximately 5236, 10328, 812, and 5032 counts/L in 5 s. The electrical circuit model was suggested, and the side exposed electrode can limit the generation of surgical smoke.