A high efficiency electrosurgical electrode (80) with an advanced electrically conductive tip (55) and aspiration port. The aspiration port is provided in the form of a central lumen (52) or "chimney" in the conductive tip and is surrounded by a plurality of protuberances (57). The central lumen or "chimney" is "self-cleaning" and/or "self-clearing" in that any tissue passing through the central lumen that might cause a clog is quickly denatured by the surrounding electrode and aspirated from the ablation site, so that the probe (100) does not require special consideration by the user (for example, replacement due to total loss of suction). The protuberances can have various forms and geometries that define a plurality of recesses and that, in one embodiment, are provided in a "star-shaped" or partial "star-shaped" pattern.
