Electrosurgery: The Early Part Of The 20th Century

Electrosurgery is the passage of high frequency electrical current through the body to achieve a desired surgical effect. The surgical effect can be achieved by, cutting, coagulating or fulgurating. The techniques of electrosurgery use today were developed in the early part of the 20th century; however, the history of the technique goes back as far as the early 19th Century. The French Physicist Becquerel was the first to demonstrate electrocautery, using electricity to heat a wire needle. Later in 1892 d’Arsonoval discovered high frequency alternating electrical current could be passed through the body without causing electrical shock.
During the 1920s two Americans physicians, Bovie and Cushing developed a more sophisticated type of electrosurgery