Abstract
We describe a healthy 59-year-old woman who sustained a third-degree burn from a grounding
pad during shoulder arthroscopy. We wish to make surgeons aware of a rare complication
associated with any arthroscopic procedure in which an electrocautery/grounding pad
system is used. We detail the presentation, evaluation, treatment, and definitive
care and review the possible causes of this complication and the mechanism by which
an electrocautery/grounding pad system functions. Although this complication is not
uncommon, we believe that this is the first case report describing a burn at the grounding
pad site occurring during arthroscopy.
Key Words
To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
Purchase one-time access:
Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online accessOne-time access price info
- For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
- For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'
Subscribe:
Subscribe to ArthroscopyAlready a print subscriber? Claim online access
Already an online subscriber? Sign in
Register: Create an account
Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect
References
- Case report: Full-thickness forehead burn over indwelling titanium hardware resulting from an aberrant intraoperative electrocautery circuit.Eplasty. 2007; 8: e1
- When is it necessary to use two patient return electrodes?.Clin Information Hotline News. July 2005; 10: 1-3
- Reducing grounding pad burns during high-current electrical procedures.in: 3M technical bulletin. 3M, St. Paul, MN2007: 1-7
- The science of PolyHesive patient return electrodes.Valleylab, Boulder, CO2000
- Extreme energy demands and the traditional patient return electrode.Clin Information Hotline News. June 2008; 13: 1-3
Article info
Publication history
Published online: January 27, 2009
Identification
Copyright
© 2009 Arthroscopy Association of North America. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
