Several years ago, my brother had a minor surgical procedure to remove a small, benign lesion from his back. The nurse practitioner who performed the procedure used an electrosurgical device called a hyfrecator to help control bleeding while removing the lesion. Lying on a hospital stretcher with his arms dangling along the sides, my brother happened to touch the metal frame of the gurney when the nurse practitioner was activating the hyfrecator, and he felt something that nearly caused him to jump off the stretcher. He'd been shocked — technically, he received a burn from the hyfrecator by essentially grounding his arm on the stretcher frame. Luckily he wasn't seriously hurt, but his reaction could have caused a major problem with a more serious or delicate procedure.