From the Advanced Bionics Patient Identification Card
MEDICAL: Please contact Advanced Bionics before conducting any medical procedures including, but not limited to: MRI, diathermy, electrosurgery, ECT, Ionizing Radiation Therapy, Cobalt Treatment, and Linear Acceleration.
Growing up in Arizona, and being exposed to the sun as much as I have, it is imperative for me to keep track of my skin.
I had new moles on my skin, so I went to the dermatologist on Wednesday. She removed one from my shoulder, using electrocautery. I was a bit wary when she was doing that, because I realized that was one of the things that I couldn’t do with the cochlear implant.
My second appointment was on Friday, and I asked her if she was using electrosurgery for these procedures. When she said yes, I asked her to please call Advanced Bionics just to make sure that it would be safe.
She was hesitant at first, and decided not to do the procedure, and wanted me to come back at a different date. I was on spring break, and that was my last day at home, so I asked her to please call anyway. She sent the nurse to call them, while she removed one, and used a liquid solution instead of electrocauterization to stop the bleeding. The nurse came back and told her that they wanted to talk to her.
When I found out what Advanced Bionics had to say, I was grateful that I was pushy in asking her to please call anyway.
I found out that if she had gone ahead with using electrocautery, we could have been electrocuted or gotten an electrical burn. In order to do electrosurgical procedures above the neck, we either needed to have a grounded pad on the floor or placed on me, or the wires needed to be grounded.
It was a good reminder to me to be proactive with my doctors when discussing medical procedures, post-cochlear implant.
