The Safety and Efficacy of the Harmonic Scalpel in Neck Dissection

The Safety and Efficacy of the Harmonic Scalpel in Neck Dissection : A Prospective Randomized Study

Recently, the HS has been used in head and neck surgery as an alternative to conventional hand-tied ligation for hemostasis, which is a time-consuming procedure. Limited data have been published on the evidence of its safety in ND, especially in radical ND. Researchers investigated the safety and efficacy of the Harmonic scalpel (HS) in neck dissection (ND), while using conventional hand-tied ligation to a minimum, in terms of operating time, blood loss, drainage and complications.

Inclusion Criteria:

• preoperative diagnosis of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma
• surgery as initial treatment

Exclusion Criteria:

• cases in which the ND specimen could not be separated from the primary tumor
• past history of neck surgery