Harmonic Scalpel Reduces Bleeding and Postoperative Complications in Redo Cardiac Surgery

Background Intraoperative and postoperative bleeding and injuries to cardiac structures are among the main determinants of complications and hospital and intensive care unit stay after cardiac reinterventions. The harmonic scalpel has been reported to achieve optimal tissue dissection with little blood loss. The present retrospective work was performed to evaluate the safety and usefulness of this device in redo cardiac surgery. Methods Ninety-six redo cardiac surgery patients were operated on with the use of harmonic scalpel, and 105 redo patients operated on by traditional electrocautery and scissors were selected from our database and served as controls. Intraoperative and postoperative data of the two groups were collected and compared. Univariate and multiple logistic regression analyses were performed for identification of factors associated with death and with major and minor complications in the overall study population and in both groups, separately. Results Although mortality and major postoperative morbidity were comparable in the two groups, harmonic scalpel patients presented markedly reduced postoperative bleeding, lower incidence of minor complications, cardiac injuries, major arrhythmias, and need for transfusions. Operative time and mean intensive care unit stay were shorter. Use of ultrascissor was found to be a protective factor against minor morbidity at multivariate analysis. Conclusions Our data suggest that harmonic scalpel is safe and is associated with better in-hospital outcome and lower postoperative blood loss in redo cardiac surgery.