Application of harmonic scalpel in surgery for parotid gland tumor in the elderly patients

Objective To investigate the clinical value of harmonic scalpel in surgery for parotid gland tumor in the elderly patientsand its safety. Methods A retrospective analysis was made on clinical date of 62 cases of parotid neoplasms aged 60 or over in our hospital from Jan. 2010 to Jan. 2014,among them 32 cases undergoing surgery with harmonic scalpel(harmonic scalpel group) and 30 patients undergoing with traditional electrosurgicalscalpel(traditional electrosurgicalscalpel group).The total operation time,time for cutting off superficial lobe,intraoperative blood loss,24 hours volumeof postoperative drainage,total volume of postoperative drainage,length of hospital stay,drainage time,the cost of hospitalization,postoperative VAS and incidence of complication of both groups were observed and compared. Results The total operation time(min),time for cutting off superficial lobe(min),intraoperative blood loss(ml),24 hours volume ofpostoperative drainage(ml),total volume of postoperative drainage(ml),length of hospitalstay(d),drainage time(d),and postoperative VAS within 2 days of the 2 groups were 58.8±10.1 vs. 79.3±13.1(t=-6.897,P＜0.001),42.7±9.9 vs. 61.3±15.7(t=-5.559,P＜0.001),14.1±5.0 vs. 23.7±5.6(t=-7.166,P＜0.001),19.5±4.8 vs. 36.7±9.2(t=-9.083,P＜0.001),43.1±6.9 vs. 90.7±10.8(t=-20.756,P＜0.001),5.4±0.5 vs. 7.4±0.7(t=-13.431,P＜0.001),3.5±0.5 vs. 5.6±0.7(t=-13.776,P＜0.001) and 2.4±0.8 vs.3.1±0.9(t=-3.251,P=0.002),respectively,and the difference was statistical significant(P＜0.01).The cost of hospitalization(yuan),localcomplicationand other system complication of the 2 groups were 7 615.6±278.4 vs. 7 700.0±271.6(t=-1.207,P=0.232),1 vs. 3(χ²=0.341,P=0.559) and 10 vs. 14(χ²=1.551,P=0.213),respectively,and the difference was not statistical significant(P＞0.05). Conclusion The harmonic scalpel in surgery for parotid gland tumor in the elderly patients is safe and effective.The advantagesincludeshorter time of surgery,less intraoperative blood loss,less postoperative drain output and quicker recover.It is worth to be further promoted in clinical.