How does harmonic scalpel work

The device consists of an electrosurgery system that contains a cutting instrument, hand-held ultrasonic transducer, foot-pedal, and generator. Electrosurgery uses a high-frequency current to cut tissue during surgery. Unlike traditional hand-held scalpels, this process allows surgeons to perform precise cuts without seeing significant blood loss from the patient. Electrosurgery devices are used in both out and in-patient operations and help reduce the overhead associated with patients having to remain in the hospital during post-op recovery.

In order to make an incision etc , the device heats the tissue with alternating currents. Members of the medical field have increasingly used it over the past decade. The Harmonic scalpel is used for endoscopic and open surgical procedures, and uses ultrasound. The device coagulates blood in order to reduce the bleeding that is characteristic of traditional steel scalpels, and seals blood vessels at lower temperatures than required in laser or electro surgery techniques.

Thanks for sharing this informative video of How Harmonic Scalpel Works. Enable Javascript for audio controls. Need Help? Chat with us Click one of our representatives below. Register for Course. Find Your Surgeon. The indications for tonsillectomy are numerous. The most widely accepted include: recurrent infections; obstructive sleep apnoea; peritonsillar abscess with recurrent tonsillitis; malignancy or suspected malignancy; and tonsillitis that has caused febrile seizures.

Until the late s, tonsillectomies were performed by cold surgical dissection, where the tonsil is removed from its capsular plane by blunt and sharp dissection. In the s, many surgeons found that hot electrocautery was safe, easy to perform, and offered good control of intraoperative haemorrhage. In fact, monopolar electrocautery dissection is one of the most common procedures in use today.

Innovation and research continue to lead to improvements in the efficacy, safety, and cost of tonsillectomy. One such innovation is the ultrasonic harmonic scalpel, which was introduced in Ethicon Endo-Surgery and which is becoming increasingly popular as a tonsillectomy device.

The harmonic scalpel has been shown to be a valuable tool for numerous surgical procedures, including cholecystectomy, bowel resection, and adhesiolysis. The instrument minimizes lateral thermal tissue damage. There is almost no need for instrument changes. The reasons for the increasing popularity of the harmonic scalpel are its purported associations with less postoperative pain and an earlier return to oral intake and regular activities. Gagner, and A. Gagner and T. Milone, L.

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