Patent ID: 8095212

Claim:
A high-frequency surgical apparatus for closure of patent foramen ovale, the high-frequency surgical apparatus being used to treat patent foramen ovale in the heart, comprising: first and second electrodes which grasp living tissue of the patent foramen ovale, at least one of the first and second electrodes being capable of puncturing the living tissue; a high-frequency power supply section which supplies high-frequency power to the living tissue via the first and second electrodes; an impedance measuring section which measures an impedance value with the living tissue acting as a load when high-frequency power is supplied to the living tissue from the high-frequency power supply section at a second high-frequency power level which is smaller than a first high-frequency power level needed to treat the patent foramen ovale; a grasping condition determining section which determines a grasping condition regarding how the living tissue is grasped in blood by the first and second electrodes by setting as a threshold an impedance value obtained when an amount of blood equal to or larger than a predetermined amount exists between the first and second electrodes and comparing the impedance value measured by the impedance measuring section with the threshold; and a control section which, when the grasping condition determining section determines the grasping condition as a grasping condition in which the impedance value measured by the impedance measuring section is equal to or smaller than the threshold, prohibits supply of the high-frequency power to the living tissue at the first high-frequency power level needed to treat the patent foramen ovale, and when the grasping condition determining section determines the grasping condition as a grasping condition in which the impedance value measured by the impedance measuring section is larger than the threshold, starts or permits the supply of the high-frequency power to the living tissue at the first high-frequency power level needed to treat the parent foramen ovale.