Thermal damage width and hemostatic effect of bipolar electrocoagulation, LigaSure, and Ultracision techniques on goat mesenteric vessels and optimal power for bipolar electrocoagulation

BACKGROUND: We aimed to determine the optimal bipolar electrocoagulation power for laparoscopic surgery and to investigate which method, bipolar electrocoagulation, advanced bipolar, or ultrasonic technique was more reliable. METHODS: Goat mesenteric vessels (210 in vivo samples) with diameters of 3.03–5.44 mm were selected. Bipolar electrocoagulation with 80 W, 75 W, 70 W, 65 W, 60 W, 55 W, and 50 W, and advanced bipolar and ultrasonic techniques were performed on mesenteric vessels. The thermal damage width, hemostatic effect, and burst pressure of these tissues were recorded. SPSS version 13.0 was used for all data analysis. RESULTS: The results showed that 60 W was the optimal for bipolar electrocoagulation based on the thermal damage width, hemostatic effect, and burst pressure. In contrast, the thermal damage width of advanced bipolar and ultrasonic techniques was smaller than that of bipolar electrocoagulation, and advanced bipolartechnique had the highest successful rate for hemostasis and highest burst pressure. CONCLUSIONS: Bipolar electrocoagulation was optimally performed with 60 W of power. Compared with ultrasonic and bipolar electrocoagulation techniques, advanced bipolar use was more reliable for mesenteric vessels in laparoscopic surgery; however, bipolar electrocoagulation with optimal power can be used for its simplicity of operation and low cost.