Sponsored: Symmetry
The right electrosurgical generator can mean improved clinical outcomes for a customer, and a disposable accessory revenue stream for distributor reps
Physicians, clinicians, and surgery center administrators have a host of choices when it comes to selecting a generator for their practice, and a knowledgeable distributor and/or sales representative can help them make the right one.
Generators are known as electrosurgical units (ESU), radio frequency (RF) electrosurgical generators, ‘Bovies,’ and high-frequency (HF) desiccators. These devices are used to cut, coagulate, fulgurate, and desiccate tissue, and there are numerous options available on the market today. The most active practices using electrosurgery in the non-acute space today are dermatology, plastic surgery, OB/GYN, and surgery centers.
Dermatology
Dermatologists typically have one high-frequency desiccator in each of their examination rooms. The Bovie® DERM 942 is often their generator of choice for a high-frequency desiccator. These are small, relatively inexpensive units used for desiccating, fulgurating, and coagulating tissue (Note: These devices cannot cut), and they result in a revenue stream based on the required number of disposables they consume. These disposables include both sharp and blunt dermal tips, packaged sterile and non-sterile, along with sterile and non-sterile drapes to cover the handpieces.
Family Practice
Family practice doctors also use the Bovie® DERM 942 but, unlike dermatologists, they are more likely to purchase a single unit due to the cost. For this reason, Bovie® has created high-frequency desiccators that are more economical – the Bovie® DERM 101 and Bovie® DERM 102. These devices are limited to 10 watts of output but provide wattage in accurate, 1/10th watt increments. While the 101 provides monopolar power, the 102 combines monopolar with bipolar power.
OB/GYN
OB/GYNs who cut tissue are most likely performing a LEEP/LLETZ procedure (Loop Electrosurgical Excision Procedure or Large Loop Excision of the Transformation Zone). The electrosurgical generator OB/GYNs use must be able to cut and coagulate tissue and maintain enough power to complete the task. The classic device for this procedure is the Bovie® Specialist PRO A1250S-G – a scaled-down version of an operating room level electrosurgical generator. This system includes the electrosurgical generator and the Smoke Shark® II smoke evacuator on a mobile stand. As mentioned earlier, these types of devices also create quite a revenue stream of disposables, typically including an electrosurgical pencil, a grounding pad – with or without cord, and electrodes with loop and ball tips for each case.
Plastic Surgery
Plastic surgeons need a powerful and versatile electrosurgical generator for the host of procedures they perform. Many select the Bovie® Specialist PRO A1250S, which provides up to 120 watts of power. However, if their surgical techniques require both monopolar and bipolar energy during the same procedure, they must physically switch between monopolar and bipolar energy (either by breaking the sterile field themselves, or by having an assistant make the switch) as the monopolar coagulation energy and the bipolar energy displays are shared when using this device.
In these procedures, a better solution is a unit with a dedicated output for bipolar energy to allow the surgeon to easily switch back and forth between energy modalities without delaying the procedure. Bovie® offers the perfect solution – the Bovie® Surgi-Center PRO A2350. While your customer may be tempted to acquire a cheaper, used OR 300-watt generator with a 90-day warranty, the 200-watt Bovie® Surgi-Center PRO A2350, like all Symmetry Surgical ESUs, comes with the only four-year warranty in the industry.
Surgery Centers
In the surgery center, the most common electrosurgical generator used is a 300-watt model, like the Bovie® OR PRO A3350, based solely on the surgeon’s familiarity with the same version they use in a hospital OR. However, as many surgical suites could accomplish all their procedures using a 200-watt system, the Bovie® Surgi-Center PRO A2350 (mentioned above) could save a facility a lot of money.
Is your ‘Bovie’ a Bovie®?
In physician office and surgery center accounts, perhaps the main task to address is cutting. If the customer intends to cut tissue (as opposed to simply fulgurating and desiccating), they’ll need to ensure that this feature is available on the device, which can range between the 50-watt Bovie® Bantam PRO 952 and the 300-watt Bovie® OR PRO A3350. Devices in this class are frequently referred to simply as ‘Bovies’ – even though they may be manufactured by several other companies. However, Bovie® is the trusted brand name of the original electrosurgical generator and is a registered trademark of Symmetry Surgical.
Accessories
With the exception of the monopolar and bipolar footswitches and the reusable DERM handpieces, which are all manufacturer-specific, most of the accessories in electrosurgical procedures are interchangeable. Electrodes, pencils, grounding pads, and a host of additional accessories work with virtually every manufacturer’s electrosurgical generator.
Each facility that performs electrosurgery is an opportunity for a sales rep to capture their disposable accessory revenue stream – and this should be the target of focus. While these facilities are not always in the market for an electrosurgical unit, they are constantly purchasing disposables. Those reps who have invested in the relationship to earn their disposable business will likely be the first ones the facility calls when they are looking for a new ESU.