Patent ID: 8623016

Claim:
An electrosurgical instrument comprising: two articulated branches, each with a distal end, which are actuated in the manner of a squeezing tool; electrode parts comprising a first electrode part and an opposing electrode part, the first electrode part being at the distal end of one of the two articulated branches and the opposing electrode part being at the distal end of the other of the two articulated branches, the electrode parts being adapted to grasp tissue and to conduct a coagulation current through the tissue in order to cause it to coagulate or a cutting current in order to cause it to cut the tissue; current-supplying devices adapted to supply said coagulation and cutting currents to the first electrode part and the opposing electrode part from a high-frequency (HF) generator; and at least one device for preventing a short circuit which is configured on said electrode parts and arranged such that the first electrode part and the opposing electrode part are unable to touch one another, wherein the at least one device for preventing a short circuit comprises at least one insulating region forming part of a first distance element, and wherein the first electrode part or the opposing electrode part comprises a coagulation section and a cutting section protruding from the coagulation section, each of the coagulation section and the cutting section forming a surface area, wherein the surface areas of the coagulation section and the cutting section serve as a coagulating electrode, whereas the surface area of the cutting section but not the surface area of the coagulation section is available for a cutting procedure in such a way that an arc for cutting through the tissue is produced from the cutting section, and wherein the cutting section defines an edge having a substantially trapezoidal cross-section on at least one of the first electrode part or the opposing electrode part; the at least one insulating region is arranged in a projecting manner on the cutting section such that the at least one insulating region is arranged between the cutting section and the opposing electrode part if the two articulated branches are brought together, wherein said cutting section is symmetrical about said at least one insulating region, and wherein the at least one insulating region is smaller than the cutting section so as not to prevent the arc from forming, and wherein a height of the first distance element determines a distance between the cutting section and the opposing electrode part when the two articulated branches are in a closed position; the at least one device for preventing a short circuit comprises the at least one insulating region, which is arranged on one of the electrode parts, and a second distance element adapted as a second cutting section, which is configured on the opposing electrode part facing the at least one insulating region and which is adapted such that, when the two articulated branches are squeezed together, the second cutting section only touches the at least one insulating region.