Knowra Cauterization Cauterization Cauterization deliberately destroys tissue with heat, electrical energy, or caustic chemicals. It is used to control bleeding, destroy lesions, and seal tissue.
Thermal cautery : Tissue destruction or sealing using heat delivered by a heated instrument. It is the direct-heat form of cauterization, distinct from electrical current passed through tissue.
Nasal cauterization : A procedure that seals a bleeding site inside the nose, often with silver nitrate or heat. It is a common targeted use for recurrent nosebleeds.
Electrocautery : A technique in which electrical current heats an instrument that then transfers heat to tissue. Unlike electrosurgery, true electrocautery does not pass current through the patient’s tissue.
Burn : Tissue damage caused by heat, chemicals, electricity, radiation, or friction. Thermal cauterization intentionally produces a controlled burn at the treatment site.
Electrosurgery : Surgical cutting or coagulation produced by high-frequency electrical current in tissue. Many procedures called electrocautery actually use current to heat tissue, rather than a heated instrument.
Epistaxis : Bleeding from the nose, arising from vessels in the nasal lining. Cauterization can stop recurrent bleeding when a responsible nasal vessel is identified.
Cryotherapy : Treatment that destroys or alters tissue by applying extreme cold. It can remove lesions like cauterization, but uses freezing rather than heat or caustic chemicals.
Wound healing : The biological process through which damaged tissue is repaired and its barrier function restored. Healing must repair the tissue injury created by cauterization.
Electrocoagulation : The use of electrical energy to coagulate tissue proteins and reduce bleeding. It describes the hemostatic effect sought when electrical cauterization seals small vessels.
Endometrial ablation : A procedure that destroys the uterine lining to reduce heavy menstrual bleeding. Some techniques use heat or electrical energy to ablate tissue, applying cauterizing principles at a larger scale.
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