title: The effect of plasmakinetic cautery on wound healing and complications in mastectomy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Surgical equipment used in breast cancer surgery that affects wound healing and minimizes complications seems to be a popular investigation topic. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of plasmakinetic cautery on wound healing in patients receiving mastectomy.
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty-six consecutive breast cancer patients receiving modified radical mastectomy were evaluated prospectively. Plasmakinetic cautery was used in 24 operations and electrocautery was used in 22 operations in random order to manage skin flaps and excise breast tissue. In the postoperative period, vacuum drainage amount and duration time as well as the start time of arm exercises were recorded. Complications like seroma, surgical site infection, hematoma, and flap necrosis were determined.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Age, body mass index, breast volume and flap area parameters were similar in each group. Mean drainage duration was found to be 5.5 days in the plasmacautery group and 7.9 days in the electrocautery group (p=0.020). In the plasmacautery and electrocautery groups, mean drainage volume was 707 and 1,093 mL, respectively (p=0.025). There was no statistical significance between the groups when operation duration, amount of blood loss, time to start arm exercises, seroma, hematoma, surgical site infection, and flap necrosis were considered.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Plasmakinetic cautery is a promising new surgical instrument that provides atraumatic, scalpel-like cutting precision and electrosurgical-like hemostasis, resulting in minimal tissue injury. So, plasmacautery shortens the drainage amount and duration time compared to electrocautery without elongating operation duration or increasing the amount of blood loss.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Ankara Oncology Training and Education Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Lutfi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dogan
authors.forename: Mehmet Ali
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Gulcelik
authors.forename: Murat
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yuksel
authors.forename: Osman
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Uyar
authors.forename: Osman
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Erdogan
authors.forename: Erhan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Reis
keywords: Breast neoplasms; Complications; Plasmakinetic cautery; Wound healing