I know your eyes are glazing over, but this is a quick blog.
Some doctors are all about fancy lasers and technology and will tell their patients about how their way is better. I get wanting to believe new technology can somehow make our old boring suture and cutting surgery better. It does seem kind of wild the surgery I do today is not radically different than what my father practiced 40 years ago.
A study in the October 2011 PRS (Plastic Surgery Journal) looked at harmonic scalpel versus electrocautery (also known commonly as a Bovie) in breast reduction surgery.
Trial:
- Randomized controlled trial
- 31 matched pair patients. One randomized blinded side to the harmonic scalpel, the other to the bovie
- They looked at operating time, drainage volume, and postoperative pain.
Findings?
The Harmonic Scalpel was equivalent to the Bovie. So to answer the question in my blog title, the answer is no. The harmonic scalpel does not give you an advantage in breast reduction surgery, but it did increase the cost, as the harmonic scalpel is $$.