Stray electricity escaping from the electrical wand used in laparoscopic procedures can lead to internal burn injuries.  Over time, the insulation surrounding these wands can crack and allow electricity to escape.  A spark like this can sear a tiny hole in a patient’s colon, leading to bowel spillage into the abdomen and peritonitis. 

There is a monitoring device available, known as “active electrode monitoring,” which shuts off a device if power is leaking.  These laparoscopic devices with this shut-off technology cost about the same as the traditional device without the safety feature.  Think of it like the auto shut-off on your blow-dryer or the ground-fault interrupt on the electrical outlets in your bathroom or garden. 

It’s difficult to identify these burn cases because usually during the repair, the burned area is destroyed, and by the time the patient shows symptoms of an infection, the surgical tools have been discarded or cleaned for reuse.  Hospitals are under no obligation to look for evidence of these burns.

According to one survey conducted at a meeting of the American College of Surgeons, 18 percent had encountered burns in their laparoscopic practice. 

Sometimes the burn is caused by a crack in the insulation of the device, and sometimes it can be caused by hospitals that ignore specified limits on length of use or frequency before replacing these electrical wands.  This can cause the wand’s insulation to break down.

If you have suffered a perforated bowel or colon during a laparoscopic procedure, you may want to consider a hard look at the device the surgeon was using.  It may be defective