Thyroid surgery: comparison between the electrothermal bipolar vessel sealing system, harmonic scalpel, and classic suture ligation.

BACKGROUND: This study was conducted to compare the outcome of total thyroidectomy using the electrothermal bipolar vessel sealing system, the harmonic scalpel, and the classic suture ligation technique.
METHODS: This was a retrospective study of prospectively collected data from 382 consecutive total thyroidectomies from September 2004 to August 2006. Patients were divided into 3 groups: group SL patients (n = 90) underwent total thyroidectomy with the classic suture ligation technique, group L (n = 148) with the electrothermal bipolar vessel sealer, and group U (n = 144) with the harmonic scalpel. The main outcomes measured were surgical and hospitalization time, intraoperative and postoperative bleeding, postoperative hypocalcemia, and superior and inferior laryngeal nerves injuries.
RESULTS: The 3 groups were similar in terms of demographics, thyroid gland weight and pathology, perioperative complications, and hospital stay. Compared with the classic technique, surgical time was reduced significantly by about 20% when the bipolar vessel sealer or harmonic scalpel was used (93.3 +/- 12.5 vs 74.3 +/- 14.2 and 73.8 +/- 13.8 min, P = .001, and P = .001, respectively).
CONCLUSIONS: Both the bipolar vessel sealer and harmonic scalpel are safe, useful, and time-saving alternatives to the traditional suture ligation technique for thyroid surgery. Because no differences were observed regarding these 2 devices, the choice should be made based on the surgeon's preferences and experience.