Method and apparatus for surgical dissection

An electro-surgical apparatus, comprising:

• an electrode with a cutting edge;
• and
• a housing coupled to the electrode and including a top with a top proximal section and a bottom with a bottom proximal section, the top proximal section having a geometry that facilitates creation of a skin flap with a substantially uniform thickness that includes a skin layer and an adjacent layer of subcutaneous tissue, the bottom proximal section having a geometry that preserves a plane of tissue that is positioned adjacent to the adjacent layer of subcutaneous tissue, the bottom proximal section having a most proximal point at “A”, and the top proximal section having a most proximal point at“B” with A being more proximal than B, bottom proximal section defined by point A and a more distal point “C” with the electrode extending from point A to point B, the electrode forms a hypoteneus of a triangle defined by points A, B, and a point D that is positioned at a more proximal position than point B, bottom proximal section forming a hypotenuse of a triangle defined by points A, C and a point E with point E being more proximal than point C, a distance between points D and A being 1 mm to 2.5 cm, a distance between points D and B can being 0 mm to 1.5 cm, a distance between points A and E being 0 mm to 1.5 cm, and a distance between points E and C being 0 mm to 1.5 cm.