Surgeons conventionally use electrocautery dissection and surgical clip appliers to harvest free flaps. The ultrasonic Harmonic\r\nScalpel is a new surgical instrument that provides high-quality dissection and hemostasis and minimizes tissue injury. The aim of\r\nthis study was to evaluate the effectiveness and advantages of the ultrasonic Harmonic Scalpel compared to conventional surgical\r\ninstruments in free flap surgery. This prospective study included 20 patients who underwent head and neck reconstructive surgery\r\nbetween March 2009 and May 2010. A forearm free flap was used for reconstruction in 12 patients, and a fibular flap was used\r\nin 8 patients. In half of the patients, electrocautery and surgical clips were used for free flap harvesting (the EC group), and in\r\nthe other half of the patients, ultrasonic dissection was performed using the Harmonic Scalpel (the HS group). The following\r\nparameters were significantly lower in the HS group compared to the EC group: the operative time of flap dissection (35% lower\r\nin the HS group), blood loss, number of surgical clips and cost of surgical materials. This study demonstrated the effectiveness of\r\nthe Harmonic Scalpel in forearm and fibular free flap dissections that may be extended to other free flaps.
Loading....