Effect of electrocautery on wound healing in midline laparotomy incisions

The effect of electrocautery on midline fascial wound healing was studied in 108 Sprague-Dawley rats. Midline wound tensile strength was significantly reduced in fascia incised with the coagulation current compared with the cutting current or scalpel. In addition, tissue necrosis and inflammation as...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inThe American journal of surgery Vol. 160; no. 6; pp. 618 - 620
Main Authors Rappaport, William D., Hunter, Glenn C., Allen, Robert, Lick, Scott, Halldorsson, Ari, Chvapil, Thomas, Holcomb, Murray, Chvapil, Milos
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States Elsevier Inc 01.12.1990
Subjects
Abdominal Muscles - surgery
Animals
Electrocoagulation
Fasciotomy
Laparotomy
Rats
Rats, Inbred Strains
Surgical Wound Dehiscence - etiology
Tensile Strength
Tissue Adhesions - etiology
Wound Healing - physiology
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:The effect of electrocautery on midline fascial wound healing was studied in 108 Sprague-Dawley rats. Midline wound tensile strength was significantly reduced in fascia incised with the coagulation current compared with the cutting current or scalpel. In addition, tissue necrosis and inflammation as well as adhesion formation between the incision and abdominal viscera were more extensive in animals with incisions made using coagulation current. The results of the study indicate that the use of electrocautery coagulation current is associated with increased tissue damage and a significant reduction in the tensile strength of healing wounds. The contribution of electrocautery to wound complications in patients needs further evaluation.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 23
ISSN:0002-9610
1879-1883
DOI:10.1016/S0002-9610(05)80757-3