What is Electrosurgical Desiccation & Hyfrecation?
The technique involves the application of extreme heat to produce very precise tissue destruction. The heat is transferred into the tissue via a tipped electrode. Essentially, Electrosurgical Desiccation and Hyfrecation is the use of a high frequency alternating electrical current (of above 0.1MHz) to treat cutaneous lesions. In the field of Podiatric medicine such treatment is mainly undertaken on resistant verrucae, vascular and neurovascular corns (corns with blood vessels and nerve endings in), long-term resistant corns (particularly fibrous corns) and can also be used to help resolve a sinus (narrow opening) beneath corns. The foot is numbed with a local anaesthetic agent being injected behind the ankle (tibial nerve block/ankle block). Prior to this injection the skin into which the local anaesthetic is to be injected is frozen with a very cold spray in order to minimise any discomfort from the injection. Provided that the local anaesthetic is administered by a practitioner with
