and keywords: monopolar cutting current,coagulating current, harmonic scalpel.

OBJECTIVE To compare harmonic scalpel (HS) tonsillectomy with electrocautery (EC) tonsillectomy in terms of operating time, intra-operative blood loss, post-operative pain and secondary haemorrhage. METHODS Sixty adult patients subjected to tonsillectomy only, were evaluated in this prospective study. The patients were stratified into 2 groups (30 each) based on the dissecting instrument used...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) using surgical electrocautery is considered to be the gold standard procedure for the treatment of uncomplicated cholecystitis and cholelithiasis. The objective of the current study was to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of the Harmonic scalpel, an advanced laparoscopic technique associated with less thermal damage in LC, when co...

OBJECTIVE Neck dissection is the most definitive and effective treatment for head and neck cancer. This systematic review aims to compare the efficacy and surgical outcomes of neck dissection between the harmonic scalpel and conventional surgical techniques and conduct a quantitative meta-analysis of the randomized trials. METHODS Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were identified from the m...

BACKGROUND Gold standard treatment for symptomatic gall stones is laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC). Ultrasonically activated devices have been used for gall bladder dissection in LC. Harmonic scalpel (HS) is the leading ultrasonically cutting coagulation device offering surgeons important benefits. The main aim of our study was to compare the surgical outcomes of LC performed by HS to that per...

BACKGROUND Monopolar cautery is the most commonly used surgical cutting and hemostatic tool for head and neck surgery. There are newer technologies that are being utilized with the goal of precise cutting, decreasing blood loss, reducing thermal damage, and allowing faster wound healing. Our study compares thermal damage caused by Harmonic scalpel and CO2 laser to cadaveric tongue. METHODS Tw...

BACKGROUND Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is the "gold standard" in the treatment of symptomatic gallbladder lithiasis. Nevertheless, some pitfalls are associated with the use of the monopolar hook, such as the risk of thermal injuries and biliary complications. By contrast, the ultrasonically activated scalpel, ie, Harmonic (Ethicon Endo Surgery INC - Johnson & Johnson Medical SPA, Somerville, N...

The ultrasonic Harmonic scalpel has demonstrated clinical and surgical benefits in dissection and coagulation. To evaluate its use in gastrectomy, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials comparing the Harmonic scalpel to conventional techniques in gastrectomy for patients with gastric cancer. International databases were searched without language restr...

BACKGROUND Hemostasis in thyroid surgery is of utmost importance for a successful surgery and an uneventful postoperative course. Our aim was to evaluate the effectiveness of the FOCUS Harmonic Scalpel in patients undergoing open total thyroidectomy. METHODS In this study, 778 patients were randomized into 2 groups based on the surgical technique used: group I comprised the conventional clamp...

Harmonic scalpel and LigaSure vessel sealing systems have been suggested as options for saving surgical time and reducing postoperative complications. The aim of the present meta-analysis was to compare surgical time, postoperative complications and other parameters between them in for the open thyroidectomy procedure. Studies were retrieved from MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, EMBASE and ISI Web of...