Argon plasma coagulation instrument with directable gas stream

摘要

An electrosurgical apparatus (1, figure 1) for coagulating tissue (7, figure 1) with an electrical arc in ionised gas has a movable shield 11 to direct the stream of gas through one or more chosen passages. The instrument has a tubular body 3 with one or more windows 15,16 at its distal end. Inside or outside the body is a tubular sleeve 11 having at least one aperture at its distal end and a handle at its proximal end so it can be rotated. The delivery of gas through the window(s) of the body is controlled by rotating the sleeve with respect to the body. Gas may be directed through a side of the body (figure 6) or through the end of the body (figure 9). Both the window and the sleeve aperture may each be a single slot, the flow pattern being determined by the degree of overlap of the slots.