Plasma surgery is an advanced technology for surgical cutting and coagulation that harnesses the previously untapped power of pure plasma energy. Plasma surgery was conceived when aerospace luminary Nikolay Suslov discovered that principles of plasma physics used in satellite positioning engines could be applied to medicine. It has the potential to be the new standard in surgery for cutting and coagulation.

 

Plasma energy is often referred to as the fourth state of matter (after solid, liquid and gas). If a gas is heated, it may wholly or partially ionize, resulting in a collection of high-energy particles—atoms, ions and electrons—termed “plasma.”

 

Plasma surgery is performed with the PlasmaJet, a unique technology system that uses a fine, electrically-neutral stream of pure plasma to cut and coagulate tissue. In the PlasmaJet system, a low flow of argon gas is concentrated into a small space within the handpiece and excited by a low voltage applied between internal, bipolar electrodes. The resulting argon plasma is a mixture of high-energy argon atoms, ions and electrons that emerge from the tip of the handpiece in a precise jet stream. Using PlasmaJet, surgeons are able to precisely cut and coagulate tissue and bone without the deep tissue damage and burns associated with the widely-used practice of electrosurgery.

 

Electrosurgery-based equipment, be it conventional, argon-enhanced or fluid-enhanced, has inherent limitations as an electric current passes through the patient’s body during the creation of the electrosurgical effect. Surgical outcomes when electrosurgery is used are not always optimal due to risks of burning or stray current.

 

 

Plasma surgery is the clean, precise and civilized alternative that minimizes these risks.