Objective: To evaluate and to compare changes that occur in the uterine tissue of the rat after a standard incision with an ultrasonic vibrating scalpel and with a regular scalpel.
Setting: Sprague-Dawley white rats (Charles River Canada Inc., St. Constant, Quebec, Canada) in a conventional laboratory setting.
Interventions: A standardized incision was performed on the uterine horn with a regular scalpel on one uterine horn and with an ultrasonic scalpel on the opposite horn.
Main outcome measures: Degree of adhesions and histopathological changes of the uterine horns.
Results: The degree of adhesion formation was similar, but the uterine horn distal to the incision was dilated in most uterine horns that were incised with ultrasonic scalpel. The degree of coagulation necrosis was significantly higher 7 and 14 days after incision with an ultrasound scalpel than after incision with a regular scalpel.
Conclusion: The use of an ultrasonic vibrating scalpel is associated with more tissue injury than that of a regular scalpel, but it does not produce more adhesion formation.