Εlectrosurgery: understanding of basic principles, safe practices and applications in gynecologic surgery

Electrosurgery is a continuously evolving field that has nowadays become a necessity in operating theatres. The expanding use of electrosurgery has been associated with a high number of thermal injuries, thus the fundamental understanding of how each of the energy devices work and their effect on biological tissues is very important and continuing education regarding electrosurgical technology is paramount for avoiding patient complications. This review describes the basic principles and modalities of electrosurgery, their biological effects on tissues and variables that can affect them, the evolution in the field of electrosurgery, its wide use in gynecological procedures, as well as the risk and complications that are commonly seen in electrosurgery.