title: Comparative healing of surgical incisions created by a standard "bovie," the Utah Medical Epitome Electrode, and a Bard-Parker cold scalpel blade in a porcine model: a pilot study.
abstract: A comparative study of skin incision healing using a standard "bovie" and a new design electroscalpel, Utah Medical Products Epitome Electrode (Midvale, UT), was conducted in a porcine model. Wounds were evaluated objectively at 14 and 28 days after surgery using wound bursting strength measurements and histologic wound scoring. Each electrosurgical device was compared with wound healing of cold scalpel incisions as the gold standard using the same criteria. Statistical differences of healing between the bovie and the Epitome indicating preferential healing for the Epitome wounds were demonstrated for bursting strength at 14 days (p = 0.002). Comparisons of the measured "zone of coagulation necrosis" produced by the electroscalpels demonstrated significantly decreased thermal tissue damage favoring the Epitome (p = 0.0003). Greater differences in wound healing favoring the cold scalpel occurred in comparisons of bovie with cold scalpel than Epitome with cold scalpel, and overall results demonstrated healing for the Epitome wounds closely approximated that for cold scalpel. The authors conclude that this new generation electroscalpel provides measurable improvements in incisional wound healing compared to established electrosurgical technology.
authors.affiliation: Department of Comparative Medicine, Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, The Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, 217 Warren Life Sciences Building, Greenville, NC 27858, USA.
authors.forename: Stephen J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Vore
authors.forename: William A
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Wooden
authors.forename: John F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Bradfield
authors.forename: E Dale
authors.initials: ED
authors.lastname: Aycock
authors.forename: Patty L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Vore
authors.forename: Janice F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Lalikos
authors.forename: Suzanne S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Hudson
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D004598:Electrosurgery / Q000295:instrumentation*; D005260:Female; D005355:Fibrosis; D007249:Inflammation; D009336:Necrosis; D010865:Pilot Projects; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013525:Surgical Instruments; D013552:Swine; D014945:Wound Healing