An electrosurgical instrument provides pressurized gas to a surgical site and includes a hand-held applicator having a housing with proximal and distal ends and a tube defined therethrough. The tube is adapted to connect to a source of pressurized gas and is configured to selectively deliver a volume of pressurized gas to a surgical site. An actuator is also included which is configured to selectively regulate the volume of pressurized ionizable gas flowing through the tube. The actuator selectively regulates the flow of the gas through the tube. The actuator is positionable from a first position which allows a first predetermined volume of pressurized ionizable gas to flow through the tube for dissection purposes to at least one subsequent position which allows a different volume of pressurized ionizable gas to flow through the tube for coagulation purposes. The actuator, when disposed in the at least one subsequent position, operatively communicates with an active electrode to ionize the different volume of pressurized ionizable gas prior to the different volume of pressurized ionizable gas exiting the tube.
