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A prospective observational study of 363 cases operated with three different harmonic scalpels

  • Head and Neck
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European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The objective of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of the Harmonic ACE™, Harmonic FOCUS™ and harmonic scalpel with 5-mm curved blade in head and neck surgery. During a 15-month period, we performed 295 thyroidectomies, 23 parotidectomies and 45 tonsillectomies using the harmonic scalpel. Control group consisted of 106 thyroidectomies, 9 parotidectomies and 30 tonsillectomies performed with the use of conventional hemostatic techniques. The use of both Harmonic ACE™ and Harmonic FOCUS™ scalpel reduced the time of thyroid and parotid surgery by 20–25%. The use of Harmonic ACE™ reduced the mean time of tonsillectomy, while the use of 5-mm curved blade had no significant effect. Postoperative pain and complication rate were comparable for both the groups. In conclusion, the use of both Harmonic ACE™ and Harmonic FOCUS™ devices significantly reduces operative time in the head and neck procedures and enables a smaller neck skin incision in thyroidectomy.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University Department of ENT, Head and Neck Surgery, Zagreb University Hospital Center, Kišpatićeva 12, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia

    Drago Prgomet, Saša Janjanin, Mario Bilić, Ratko Prstačić, Lana Kovač, Mihael Rudeš & Vladimir Katić

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  1. Drago Prgomet
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  2. Saša Janjanin
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  3. Mario Bilić
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  4. Ratko Prstačić
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  5. Lana Kovač
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  6. Mihael Rudeš
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  7. Vladimir Katić
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Correspondence to Drago Prgomet.

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Prgomet, D., Janjanin, S., Bilić, M. et al. A prospective observational study of 363 cases operated with three different harmonic scalpels. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 266, 1965–1970 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-009-0954-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-009-0954-3

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