The use of an ultrasonic curettage device in orthognathic surgery decreases surgery-related blood loss

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to compare the use of a powered instrument (PI) and ultrasonic curettage device (ULCD) with intraoperative blood loss (IOBL), drain volume (DV), calculated blood loss (CBL), and hidden blood loss (HBL) in orthognathic surgery. METHODS: We included 163 patients who underwent bimaxillary surgery in our department. CBL was calculated from the preoperative and postoperative hemoglobin levels using the “hemoglobin balance method.” CBL is an indicator of the amount of perioperative blood loss. HBL was calculated by subtracting IOBL and DV from CBL. RESULTS: The PI group consisted of 61 patients (17 males and 44 females, age: 24.9 ± 9.5 years), and the ULCD group consisted of 102 patients (40 males and 62 females, age: 23.1 ± 7.8 years). In the PI group, the median IOBL, DV, CBL, and HBL were 540.0 (interquartile range [IQR] 380.0–670.0), 113.0 (IQR 77.0–147.0), 1000.0 (IQR 751.4–1248.6), and 285.8 (IQR 151.0–476.4) ml, respectively. In the ULCD group, the median IOBL, DV, CBL, and HBL were 327.5 (IQR 200.0–455.0), 105.5 (IQR 75.3–136.0), 759.5 (IQR 594.9–944.2), and 294.2 (IQR 120.8–456.9) ml, respectively. IOBL and CBL were significantly reduced with ULCD use, but no significant differences were observed in DV and HBL. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that IOBL decreased with ULCD use, resulting in a decrease in CBL. Conversely, bleeding parameters (DV and HBL), which reflect the amount of bleeding that occurs after wound closure, did not show a decrease with ULCD use.