Comparison of Various Incision Techniques in Abdominal Surgery

Abstract

Surgical incisions are usually made with scalpel but usually results in skin bleeding which obscure the operating field. Other alternative in making surgical incision is diathermy. Usually skin incision by diathermy is avoided due to fear of deep burn and scarring when compared with scalpel incision, which create a clean incised wound with minimal tissue destruction. But diathermy in skin incisions decreases bleeding with less incision time. This study compared the complication and effectiveness of various techniques of making skin incisions in an abdominal surgical procedure in 105 patients in age group of 20-60 years. Patients were divided into 3 groups: A: Incision by sharp needle electrode only. B: Incision to reticular dermis with scalpel blade then further incision deep to the peritoneum with sharp needle electrode. C: Incision by conventional scalpel only. Result: There was no difference between group A, group B and group C regarding age, sex and weight (p>0.05). The incision bleeding was less in group A (statistically non-significant, p>0.05). There were more inflamed wounds in group A on 3rd day as compared to group B and group C (statistically significant p<0.05). The postoperative complications and hospital stay were less in group C compared to group A and group B (statistically non significant p>0.05). There was no difference in group A, group B and group C regarding cosmetic appearance after three months. Conclusion: Study suggested that scalpel blade is superior to electro diathermy for making surgical incisions.