Usefulness of using additional ultrasonic dissection device in breast cancer surgery: a retrospective cohort study

In breast cancer surgery, electrocautery (EC) is commonly used with the basic method of knot tying, and there are few reports of using other devices such as ultrasonic dissection device (UDD). This study was designed to compare the case of using EC with the basic method of knot tying and the case of using UDD in breast cancer surgery.

From April 2019 to March 2020, 376 patients who underwent breast cancer surgery at Pusan National University Hospital were enrolled. We compared operation time, complications, and blood loss volume between surgery with and without UDD.

We included 306 patients for the final analysis, 142 in the control group and 164 in the trial group. The operation time [minutes (min)] was significantly reduced in the trial group compared to the control group (111.2 vs. 95.5 min, P<0.001). In subgroup analysis, the operation time in the trial group was significantly reduced. There was no significant difference in intraoperative blood loss (P=0.999) and complications [seroma (P=0.965), hematoma (P=0.999), cellulitis (P=0.999)].

Our study showed that the use of a UDD for surgeons to select instruments for breast cancer surgery may be a good option for both patients and surgeons.