Unintended current flow or plasma discharge has been observed in known illuminated electrosurgical devices having a metallic tubular heat sink surrounding a conductive electrode and an illumination element, and having a distal outer edge that abuts against the light emitting element. An insulating, shielding or other isolating element that prevents or discourages unintended plasma formation between the distal outer edge and nearby patient tissue can reduce the potential for tissue damage to a patient or injury to a surgeon.

An ocular protection device and treatment methods are disclosed. The device has a corneal shield with an attached handle. The handle may be used to move the corneal shield to better protect the eye from various treatment modalities. The handle may also be used to place tension on the eyelid to counteract the forces imposed by a treatment handpiece. A procedure for treating the eye is disclosed where multiple passes with a treatment handpiece cause a gradual increase in the temperature of an eyelid up to a treatment temperature. Once the treatment temperature has been met, occlusions in the Meibomian glands of the eyelid may be expressed. The procedure may be repeated recursively until a desired level of expression has been achieved.

An apparatus comprises a body, a shaft assembly, an end effector, and a shield member. The shaft assembly extends distally from the body. The end effector is located at a distal end of the shaft assembly. The end effector comprises an ultrasonic blade and a clamp arm. The ultrasonic blade is configured to vibrate at an ultrasonic frequency. The clamp arm is movable toward the ultrasonic blade to compress tissue against the ultrasonic blade. The shield member is selectively movable from a first position to a second position in response to movement of the clamp arm toward the ultrasonic blade. The shield member is configured cover at least a first portion of the ultrasonic blade in the first position. The shield member is configured to uncover the first portion of the ultrasonic blade in the second position.

Unintended current flow or plasma discharge has been observed in known illuminated electrosurgical devices having a metallic tubular heat sink surrounding a conductive electrode and an illumination element, and having a distal outer edge that abuts against the light emitting element. An insulating, shielding or other isolating element that prevents or discourages unintended plasma formation between the distal outer edge and nearby patient tissue can reduce the potential for tissue damage to a patient or injury to a surgeon.

An amount of radiation exposure of a medical staff is significantly reduced, and a large working area is ensured during an operation. A size of each component of a radiation protection equipment is reduced so as to decrease a weight thereof. The radiation protection equipment is provided, which can be installed within a short time period before an operation and easily put away after the operation. The radiation protection equipment, includes: a first protection sheet arranged on a periphery of a radiation source device and configured to shield radiation; a second protection sheet formed separately from the first protection sheet, arranged on a side of an operation table, and configured to shield radiation; and a third protection sheet formed separately from the first and second protection sheets, arranged on a periphery of a surgical field so as to expose the surgical field, and configured to shield the radiation.

The shield for an electrosurgical suction coagulator includes a cylindrical cuff and a shielding portion. The cylindrical cuff is sized for releasably engaging a distal end of a shaft of an electrosurgical suction coagulator. The shielding portion has an arcuate cross-sectional contour and is mounted on the cylindrical cuff such that the shielding portion extends distally therefrom. The shielding portion has a radius of curvature equal to a radius of curvature of the cylindrical cuff and is positioned coaxially therewith. A plurality of shields for the electrosurgical suction coagulator may be provided in a kit, along with the electrosurgical suction coagulator. In the kit, a circumferential length of each shielding portion of each shield is unique, such that a user of the electrosurgical suction coagulator may select a desired one of the shields for a desired amount of shielding coverage.

An apparatus comprises a body, a shaft assembly, an end effector, and a wetting member. The shaft assembly extends distally from the body. The end effector is located at a distal end of the shaft assembly. The end effector comprises an ultrasonic blade that is configured to vibrate at an ultrasonic frequency. The wetting member is selectively movable between a first position and a second position. The wetting member is configured to be spaced away from the ultrasonic blade in the first position. The wetting member is configured to contact the ultrasonic blade in the second position and thereby apply a cooling fluid to the ultrasonic blade.

A boot for an electrosurgical instrument has a conductive boot shield substantially enclosed by one or more insulating layers. The boot shield has a flexible conductive medium. The flexible conductive medium has a plurality of conductive components suspended in at least one of a first liquid or a first gel, whereby the boot is configured to bend with a bend radius of about 10 millimeters or less without a loss in conductivity of the boot shield. A related method and system are also provided.

A vapor delivery needle is provided that may include any of a number of features. One feature of the energy delivery probe is that it can apply condensable vapor energy to tissue, such as a prostrate, to shrink, damage, or denature tissues of the prostate. Methods associated with use of the energy delivery probe are also covered.

An apparatus comprises a body, a shaft assembly, and an end effector. The shaft assembly extends distally from the body. The end effector is located at a distal end of the shaft assembly. The end effector comprises an ultrasonic blade and a clamp arm. The ultrasonic blade is configured to vibrate at an ultrasonic frequency. The clamp arm comprises a clamp pad. The clamp arm is movable toward the ultrasonic blade to compress tissue between the clamp pad and the ultrasonic blade in two stages. During the first stage, the clamp arm is configured to compress tissue with only a distal portion of the clamp pad. During the second stage, the clamp arm is configured to compress tissue with the distal portion and a proximal portion of the clamp pad. Thus, the tissue compression begins at the distal portion and subsequently progresses toward the proximal portion.