What type of electrosurgical unit does not require the use of a grounding pad?

What type of electrosurgical unit does not require the use of a grounding pad?

• A. Monopolar
• B. Bipolar
• C. Ultrasonic
• D. Laser

Answer: (B)

Bipolar electrosurgical units deliver current between two tips of the instrument, so the electrical circuit is completed locally within the tissue between those tips. Because the return path is right there in the instrument and tissue area, there’s no need for a patient grounding pad. This setup concentrates the effect to the surgical site and reduces the risk of unintended burns elsewhere on the body. Monopolar units require a grounding pad placed on the patient to complete the circuit after current travels from the active electrode through the body to the pad. The other options aren’t electrosurgical units in the same sense: ultrasonic devices use mechanical energy, and lasers use light energy, neither relying on a conductive path through a grounding pad.

Bipolar electrosurgical units deliver current between two tips of the instrument, so the electrical circuit is completed locally within the tissue between those tips. Because the return path is right there in the instrument and tissue area, there’s no need for a patient grounding pad. This setup concentrates the effect to the surgical site and reduces the risk of unintended burns elsewhere on the body.

Monopolar units require a grounding pad placed on the patient to complete the circuit after current travels from the active electrode through the body to the pad. The other options aren’t electrosurgical units in the same sense: ultrasonic devices use mechanical energy, and lasers use light energy, neither relying on a conductive path through a grounding pad.