Electrosurgery Induced Damage to Ti-6Al-4V and CoCrMo Alloy Surfaces in Orthopedic Implants In Vivo and In Vitro

Surgeons using electrosurgical systems in proximity to metallic implants should exercise caution. Discharge of electrical energy through implants can induce localized surface damage and may result in other adverse outcomes. Although these results show some damage reported to be ICI corrosion is indeed the result of electrosurgery, there remains damage observed in retrievals not explained by this process.