Patent ID: 8057468

Claim:
A method of endoscopic or laparoscopic surgery with an electrosurgical device to generate a plasma stream for performing electrosurgery on a surgical site within a patient comprising an electrosurgical generator coupled to a electrical power source to supply power to the electrosurgical device and a plasma generator including an electrode operatively coupled to said electrosurgical generator to receive electrical energy therefrom and disposed within an inner noble gas conduit to form a plasma channel coupled to a noble gas source to feed noble gas to said inner noble gas conduit such that said electrode at least partially ionizes the noble gas to generate the plasma stream directed to the surgical site to perform the surgical procedure and an outer electronegative gas conduit disposed in surrounding relationship relative to said inner noble gas conduit to cooperatively form an electronegative gas channel therebetween coupled to a gas source to feed electronegative gas to said electronegative gas channel such that the electronegative gas sustains the plasma stream at the surgical site and reduces the level of the concentration of noble gas adjacent the surgical site area to inhibit ionization of the noble gas away from the surgical site.