Effect of Cooling Irrigating Saline in Tongue Base Ablation in Obstructive Sleep Apnea

OBJECTIVE: Plasma is formed by creating a high-density energy field within an electrically conductive fluid such as saline. Sometimes ablated bits of tissue get stuck between the electrodes of the wand, obstructing the suction channel. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of cooling the irrigating saline during ablation of the hypertrophied tongue base in patients with obstructive sleep apnea. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective randomized controlled trial. SETTING: An otorhinolaryngology department in Main University hospitals. METHODS: Sixty adult patients with obstructive sleep apnea and tongue base hypertrophy underwent tongue base ablation surgery. Patients were randomly divided into 2 groups of 30 patients each: cooled saline and room temperature saline. The Coblation wand used was the EVac 70 Xtra HP (Smith & Nephew). RESULTS: In this study, a significant difference in operative time (mean ± SD) was seen between groups: 21.2 ± 5.5 minutes in the cold group and 47 ± 9.5 minutes in the control group (P = .001). The wands in the cold group did not obstruct, while all the wands in the control group were obstructed by tissue clogs with variable degrees, hence wasting more time to clean the wands’ tips. CONCLUSION: Cooling the irrigating saline overcame the problem of wand clogs, and the wand tip did not occlude at all during the procedures, thus saving time lost in wand cleaning and demonstrating a faster and safer surgical procedure. Further studies are needed to identify the hemostatic effect of the cooled saline over the regular one.