In this guide:
- Quick Comparison Table
- Unit-by-unit breakdown
- How to match the unit to your practice
- Consumables checklist
Electrosurgery is one of the most-used tools in a dermatology practice, and one of the easiest to under-invest in. Many practices are still running whatever unit came with the office, without ever comparing it to what else is available. But the differences between units aren't cosmetic. Wattage, output modes, and included accessories all affect what you can treat in-office versus what you refer out, and that has a direct impact on both patient experience and practice revenue.
Delasco carries five electrosurgery units spanning simple desiccators to full surgical generators. Here's how they compare, and how to think about which one fits your practice.
Quick Comparison
| Unit | Max Power | Modes | Best For | List Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bovie Derm 102 | 10W | Monopolar/bipolar desiccation & fulguration | Light office electrosurgery, satellite rooms | $769 |
| Bovie Derm 942 | 40W | Monopolar/bipolar desiccation & fulguration | Standard dermatology office use | $1,129 |
| ConMed Hyfrecator 2000 | 35W | Monopolar/bipolar, dual independent outputs | Practices that want fine, precise control | $1,379 |
| Bovie Bantam PRO A952 | 50W | Monopolar/bipolar desiccation/fulguration and cut/coag | Practices adding excisions/shave removals | $2,769 |
| Bovie Specialist PRO A1250S | 120W | Monopolar/bipolar, full generator: cut, blend, coag, fulguration | High-volume surgical practices | $4,019 |
(Prices and availability change, so check current listings before quoting a patient or ordering.)
The Desiccators: Bovie Derm A102 and A942
These are the workhorses for the bread-and-butter procedures most dermatology visits involve, treating skin tags, seborrheic keratoses, small vascular lesions, and achieving light hemostasis after a biopsy or shave.
The A102 tops out at 10 watts, adjustable in tenth-of-a-watt increments, which gives excellent low-end control for delicate work. It's compact (about 3 lbs) and dual-voltage, so it travels well between rooms or satellite offices.
The A942 is the same desiccator platform stepped up to 40 watts, which covers a wider range of lesion sizes without leaving the desiccator category. It carries a 4-year manufacturer's warranty, versus the standard coverage on the A102, which is worth factoring in if you're equipping a room that will see heavy daily use.
ROI Breakdown: These units are the low-cost entry point into owning your own electrosurgery capability rather than relying on a shared unit or referring simple lesion removals elsewhere. At $769 to $1,129, either pays for itself quickly once you're not sending routine desiccation cases out of the practice, and both use the same electrodes and disposables as most of the rest of the Bovie line, so consumable costs stay predictable no matter which one you choose.
The Precision Option: ConMed Hyfrecator 2000
The Hyfrecator name is one that most dermatologists already know, and the 2000 model earns that reputation with a dual-output design: a low-output terminal for delicate, tenth-of-a-watt-precise work, and a separate high-output terminal for heavier desiccation and fulguration, controlled independently rather than sharing one dial. It also runs dual microprocessors, one driving output and a second dedicated purely to safety monitoring.
ROI Breakdown: At $1,379, the Hyfrecator sits between the two Bovie desiccators and the combo units in price, but its brand recognition can matter if patients or staff are used to it from training or prior employers, meaning less onboarding time and fewer "how does this work" questions. It's a strong fit for practices that want desiccator-level simplicity with more refined control at the low end, without stepping up to a cutting-capable generator.
The Combo Unit: Bovie Bantam PRO A952
The A952 is really two tools in one chassis: half of it is a high-frequency desiccator (like the Derm units), and the other half is a 50-watt electrosurgical generator with cut and coagulation modes. That means a single unit can handle routine desiccation and basic cutting procedures, without needing a second piece of equipment in the room.
ROI Breakdown: This is the unit to consider when a practice is ready to start doing more of its own excisions and shave removals in-office rather than referring them out or scheduling a separate surgical day. At $2,769, it's a meaningful step up from the desiccators, but for a practice doing even a few cutting procedures a week, bringing that volume in-house, rather than losing it to a referral, can offset the cost fairly quickly.
The Full Generator: Bovie Specialist PRO A1250S
The A1250S is a true multi-modality surgical generator: 120W cut, 90W blend, 80W coagulation, 40W fulguration, and 30W standard bipolar, all selectable with a modern push-button interface. Safety features include Bovie's NEM pad-sensing technology (which monitors the return electrode) and digital error detection with audible alerts.
Business angle: This is the unit for a practice running a genuine in-office surgical suite, think Mohs, larger excisions, flaps, where having the full range of cut and coagulation power in one generator avoids bottlenecking a busy surgical schedule around equipment. At $4,019, it's priced for that volume; it's not the right first purchase for a practice only doing occasional in-office electrosurgery, but for a high-volume surgical practice, it removes a capacity constraint rather than just adding a feature.
Matching the Unit to Your Practice
A simple way to think about it:
- Solo practice, mostly medical dermatology: Bovie Derm A102 or A942 covers nearly everything you'll see day to day.
- Want more precise control at low wattage, or staff already trained on it: ConMed Hyfrecator 2000.
- Starting to bring excisions and shave removals in-house: Bovie Bantam PRO A952.
- High-volume surgical or Mohs practice: Bovie Specialist PRO A1250S.
- All units listed here are monopolar and bipolar.
Multi-provider practices also commonly run more than one tier: a desiccator in each exam room for routine work, with a combo or full generator reserved for the procedure room. Since most of these units share the same 3/32" electrode shaft size, standardizing compatible consumables across multiple units is straightforward.
Don't Forget the Consumables
An electrosurgery unit is only as good as what you're running through it, and this is where per-procedure costs really add up over a year. Delasco stocks the full supporting lineup:
- Electrodes (monopolar and bipolar) in sharp, blunt, loop, and ball configurations
- Handpieces and replacement parts for autoclavable or disposable use
- Cautery tools for battery-operated, cordless applications
- Sheaths, adapters, and replacement components, to keep any unit, new or older, running
- Surgical smoke evacuation, like the Bovie Smoke Shark, is increasingly a staff-safety consideration as dermatologic surgery pays more attention to smoke plume exposure. It's worth noting that the Smoke Shark isn't an electrosurgical unit itself; it's an accessory that pairs with whichever generator you're running, pulling surgical smoke away from the field during a procedure.
Standardizing your electrode and consumable ordering alongside your unit purchase is one of the simplest ways to control the ongoing cost of electrosurgery, and it's worth reviewing what you're currently spending on disposables regardless of which unit you're running.
Schedule a consultation with your Delasco Account Manager or call 800-831-6273 to discuss financing, warranty options, and which unit best matches your practice's case volume.
