Journal of Clinical and Experimental Investigations

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this prospective study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety in the application of ultrasonic scalpel compared to conventional operative technique in open surgery of the thyroid gland.
Methods: The study included 100 patients operated between May 2013 and August 2013. Patients were divided into two groups - 50 patients were operated using SonoSurg® and 50 patients were operated using classic “clamp and Tie” technique. We evaluated and compared the outcome between the two groups.
Results: Both groups had a similar distribution in the demographic features such as gender, age, functional activity and malignant diseases of the thyroid gland. When comparing the results, we found a significant reduction in the duration of surgery in patients operated with SonoSurg® (SST group) (72 ± 20 min vs 100 ± 32 min, p = 0.01). There was no difference for fluid in the vacuum drainage during the first 24 hrs. Hospital stay of patients in both groups was similar - an average of 3 days stay into the clinic.
Conclusion: Our results showed that "ultrasonic scalpel” is an effective, easy to use and completely reliable method for achieving hemostasis with visible advantages over classical operational technique.