Cautery machines are used in ENT, ophthalmic, etc. surgery routinely for a variety of tasks to cut, freeze, dissect, fulgurate, isolate and shrink tissue.

At high frequencies such as 100 kHz to 5 MHz, alternating current at various voltages (200–10,000 volts) is passed through the tissue to generate heat.

It consists of a generator and a handpiece with one or more electrodes in an electrosurgical unit. The device can be controlled using the switch on the handpiece or the foot switch.

They produce different types of electrical waves. As these waves change, so do the associated tissue effects.

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