There are provided pressurized surgical instruments (50) for use in pressurized surgical environments. The pressurized surgical instruments (50) include pressurizing systems for maintaining a neutral or positive pressure flow within the surgical instrument (50) during use. The pressurizing systems include a primary sensor (72) for detecting the pressure of the surgical environment (50) and a pressurizing mechanism (70) for balancing the pressure of the surgical instrument (50) with the surgical environment. The pressurizing mechanism (70) includes a controller (90) to receive and compare the signal sent from the primary sensor (72) to the ambient or internal instrument pressure and a pressure delivery system (100) to provide positive pressure to the interior of the surgical instrument (50) in response to a signal received from the controller (90). The sources of pressure for the pressure delivery systems (100) may be external or self contained within the surgical instrument (50).
