Study Finds Starion Instruments' Tissue Welding Technology Reduces Pain and Bleeding in Tonsillectom...( Technology may improve quality of r...),Health

Technology may improve quality of recovery compared with cold dissection

procedure

SUNNYVALE, Calif., Nov. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Starion Instruments, a leading surgical device company, today announced that a study published in the Annals of Otology, Rhinology & Laryngology found that the use of Starion's proprietary Tissue Welding Technology in total tonsillectomy patients resulted in significantly less intraoperative blood loss and lower pain scores compared with cold dissection tonsillectomy.

The study, Thermal Welding Versus Cold Dissection Tonsillectomy: A Prospective, Randomized, Single-Blind Study in Adult Patients, was led by Pelagia Stavroulaki, MD, PhD, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, General Hospital, Volos, Greece. Stavroulaki and her team compared the rates of post-operative morbidity in adults undergoing thermal (tissue) welding tonsillectomy versus cold dissection tonsillectomy. While tonsillectomies are one of the most common surgical procedures, morbidity, mainly hemorrhage and postoperative pain, remains high in the adult population.

The researchers randomized 32 adults with recurrent tonsillitis who were scheduled for elective tonsillectomy to the tissue welding technique or the cold dissection technique, with 16 patients in each group. They estimated intraoperative blood loss by measuring the amount in the suction bottle and by weighing the cotton pledgets before and after the procedures. The patients were discharged the day after surgery with an acetaminophen prescription for pain control and a chart to record the following factors on a daily basis for 10 days following surgery: intensity of post-operative pain, total analgesic requirements, last day of taking analgesics, and any other adverse events.

Stavroulaki and her team found that the rate of intraoperative blood loss was significantly lower in the tissue welding group (p < .0001), with essentially no intraoperative bleeding ob
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