A Comparative Study Between Harmonic Scalpel Hemostasis and Conventional Hemostasis in Total and Subtotal Thyroidectomy

Abstract

Thyroid gland is highly vascularized organ, so good hemostasis during total or sub-total thyroidectomy is crucial to decrease the complications and to improve the outcome. This study aimed to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of using harmonic scalpel device in comparison with conventional hemostasis for total and subtotal thyroidectomy in terms of operative time, nerves injury, post-operative blood loss, hematoma development, hypocalcemia and length of hospital stay. This study included 80 patients who underwent total or subtotal thyroidectomy. They were divided into two groups according to the type of hemostasis: conventional hemostasis group and harmonic hemostasis group. Different diseases were included (multinodular goiter, toxic goiter and malignant diseases). The results showed that time of operation was significantly shorter in the harmonic hemostasis group (79.52±14.98 min) than conventional hemostasis group (100.92 ±10.64 min) with p value 0.0001, also post-operative blood loss was lower in harmonic hemostasis group (52.5±26.23 ml) than conventional hemostasis group (75.13±17.8 ml) with p value 0.0001. Other outcome such as recurrent laryngeal nerve injury, post-operative hematoma, post-operative hypocalcemia and length of hospital stay did not show significant difference between the groups. In conclusion, using harmonic scalpel device in total or subtotal thyroidectomy reduced the operative time and post-operative blood loss, without any change in the incidence of nerve injury, hematoma, hypocalcemia and the length of hospital stay.