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principles of electrosurgery Bleeding encountered during an operation can be arterial, venous or ...

TECHNIQUE The suturing of an incision or wound needs to take into consid - eration the site and t...

TOPICAL HAEMOSTATIC AGENTS Physical or biological topical haemostatic agents are considered adj...

The effects of diathermy Diathermy ( Figure 7.19 ) can be used for two basic purposes ( Table 7.4...

The principles of electrosurgery Electric current is defined as the flow of charged particles thro...

Suture characteristics There are five characteristics of any suture material that need to be consi...

Suture techniques There are four frequently used suture techniques. 1 Interrupted sutures . Inter...

T-tube drains A T-tube ( Figure 7.21 ) may be inserted after exploration of the common bile duct...

Supine position This is the most common position for general surgical proce - dures. The patient’...

Surgical access to the abdomen in general surgery Access to the abdominal cavity can be achieved ...

Skin antisepsis Skin antisepsis removes transient organisms and dirt, thereby preventing SSI. The...

Skin incisions Skin incisions ( Figure 7.6 ) are made using a scalpel with the blade pressed firm...

Specialist use of drains Nasogastric drainage The role of nasogastric tube placement in the surg...

Removal of metals and other foreign bodies Removal of piercings and rings from the surgical site...

Removal of skin staples or sutures The timing of removal of non-absorbable sutures depends on t...

SURGICAL EXPOSURE AND WOUND APPROXIMATION SURGICAL EXPOSURE AND WOUND APPROXIMATION SURGICAL ...

Patient safety and transfer to the operating table Patient safety is of paramount importance. Th...

Prone position In the prone position ( Figure 7.4 ) , the patient is intubated and - then log-rol...

Removal of drains A drain should be removed as soon as it has served its purpose. It is important...

Needles Most needles in present practice are eyeless, or ‘atraumatic’, with the suture material e...