Tech in Surgery Prep / Unit 23 TSC 559 worked example, 60 to 90 seconds
Dispersive Pad Burns
The idea
A dispersive pad burn happens when heat at the pad site is not dispersed, usually because the pad's contact with the skin is poor.
In practice
Follow the prevention steps in order. First, choose a site that is clean, dry, well vascularized and over a large muscle, close to the operative site. Second, avoid bony prominences, scars, fatty tissue, hair, skin over metal implants and pressure points. Third, make sure the pad's gel is moist and the pad makes full, even contact. Fourth, keep prep solution from pooling under or near the pad. Fifth, use the unit's contact quality monitoring, which stops the current if contact becomes poor. Sixth, check and document the skin at the pad site after the case.
Where people slip
Contact monitoring has made pad burns rare, but not impossible. A surgeon repeatedly asking for a higher setting can be a sign that the pad's contact has failed, and that is worth checking before turning the power up.
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