Active accessories, such as handles, electrodes and forceps, must always be free from coagulum. This is a solution when economics permits, but extreme care must be taken to insure that all patient return plates and circuits are on common electrical levels. The biomedical department should be consulted and the operating-room nurse must carefully check that the cables are properly connected and in place, at all times. Poor performance often results when performing microsurgery with a macrosurgical unit by adapting special microsurgical accessories. We strongly advise against this practice because it subverts the purpose of microsurgery.
Electrosurgical instrumentation compares favorably with the surgical laser.
The advantage of the electrosurgical application is that the surgeon can mechanically control the activity on the tissue, which is not possible with the laser beam. Prior to this.