Instruments used in laparoscopic, or "bandaid" surgery, are designed to allow the surgeon to operate and control bleeding inside a small cavity within the body. But if insulation on these instruments fails, stray electrical burns can result that can severely injure surrounding tissue.

Unfortunately, according to published figures, many of these stray burns go unnoticed during surgery, resulting in dangerous complications such as organ and vessel hemorrhage, contamination of the abdominal cavity, or peritonitis.

Danville Regional Medical Center is the area's first hospital to use a new type of electrosurgical instrument equipped with safeguards against stray burns. Active Electrode Monitoring (AEM) instruments use shielding and monitoring to focus 100 percent of their power where the surgeon intends.

"More than half of all abdominal and chest surgeries that were once done as open procedures are now done laparoscopically or thoracoscopically," says James A. Brown, M.D., General, Vascular & Thoracic Surgeon, Southside Surgical Specialists, P.C. "This new technology makes surgery safer for our patients."