Use of the harmonic scalpel in superficial and total parotidectomy for benign and malignant disease.

Objectives: Use of the harmonic scalpel in superficial parotidectomy for benign parotid disease has been shown to reduce surgical time as well as intraoperative blood loss. We sought to determine whether similar results could be achieved with the expanded use of the harmonic scalpel in parotidectomy for both benign and malignant disease.

Study Design: Retrospective review.

Harmonic Scalpel versus cold knife dissection in superficial parotidectomy.

Objectives: Use of the Harmonic Scalpel has recently been described in thyroid surgery, in which it appears to result in decreased operative time and blood loss without increasing the incidence of nerve injury when compared to conventional techniques of vessel ligation and tissue division. We sought to determine whether the use of the Harmonic Scalpel in superficial parotidectomy was associated with a difference in operative time, blood loss, or facial nerve injury compared with conventional techniques.

Study Design And Setting: The medical records of all patients who underwent superficial parotidectomy for benign parotid pathology at the Medical College of Georgia and Veterans Affairs Hospital of Augusta, Georgia, from 1999 to 2002 were retrospectively reviewed.