Electrosurgery (Reproductive Surgery)

Electrosurgery uses a high-frequency electric current to cut, seal, or vaporize tissue during reproductive surgery. Two setups are in common use. Monopolar electrosurgery sends current from the tip of the instrument, through the body, to a pad placed away from the surgical site. It concentrates power where the surgeon is working, for precise cutting and sealing (coagulation).

Bipolar electrosurgery keeps the current between two tips set close together. This design limits the spread of heat. Bipolar instruments are the safer choice near delicate structures such as the fallopian tubes, the ureter, and the bowel.

In NaProTECHNOLOGY laparoscopic surgery, surgeons tend to choose bipolar instruments when these structures are close and heat must stay controlled. In excision surgery for endometriosis, electrosurgery helps the surgeon cut with precision and stop bleeding.

Fulguration or ablation is discouraged. It burns lesions broadly without removing all of the disease. It leaves disease in place. It also risks deeper damage from heat that spreads out of control.