Patent ID: 8784416

Claim:
An electrosurgical instrument for selectively providing electrical energy to an electrode blade for cutting and coagulation, comprising: an elongate housing; a reduced neck portion at a first end of the housing, the neck portion being configured to retain an electrode blade extending outwardly therefrom; a light source disposed within an interior of the housing; a light power source encapsulated within the interior of the housing; plural user-selectable switches disposed at least in part at an exterior of the housing, wherein: a first switch of the plural switches is configured, when actuated, to establish an electrically-conductive pathway between a retained electrode blade and an external electrosurgical signal generator, and a second switch of the plural switches is coupled in electrical communication with each of the light source and the light power source, wherein the second switch is configured, when actuated, to establish an electrically-conductive pathway between the light power source and the light source; a circuit board disposed within the housing and directly underlying at least one of the plural user-selectable switches, the circuit board further constituting a portion of the electrically-conductive pathway between the electrode blade and the external electrosurgical signal generator; and an electrically conductive lead comprising: a first end disposed within the housing and being coupled in electrical communication with the circuit board; and a second end extending outwardly from the housing and being configured for electrically coupling with the external electrosurgical signal generator.