Integrated ablation and division device for liver resection.

Background: Intraoperative blood loss during liver resection may be minimized by ablating the liver parenchyma using radiofrequency (RF) energy. However, it is difficult to estimate the depth of the avascular plane and more RF energy than necessary may be inadvertently used as a result of lack of feedback.

Methods: Laparoscopic liver resection was performed on a live porcine model to determine the feasibility and applicability of a model which integrates ablation and division in a single device.

Results: Liver resection was uncomplicated with minimal bleeding. The integration of the ablation and division mechanism resolved the difficulty of estimating the depth of the avascular plane after coagulation. The real-time feedback mechanism minimized liver damage by eliminating the application of unnecessary RF.

Conclusions: The proposed model is functionally acceptable and represents a possible method of determining the depth of the avascular plane and the amount of RF energy required during liver resection.