The aim of this research project is to compare electrocautery to scalpel for laparotomy skin incisions, with the following objectives: 1. To investigate whether electrocautery produces a cosmetically inferior surgical scar. 2. To compare the rates of wound infection with each technique. 3. To determine if electrocautery results in less postoperative pain. Our null hypothesis is that electrocautery is equivalent to scalpel for creating skin incisions; with respect to wound cosmesis, wound infection rate, and post-operative pain.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
TRIPLE
Enrollment
66
Electrocautery using cutting mode of epidermis and dermis of skin.
Incising skin (epidermis and dermis) with scalpel.
St Paul's Hospital
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Scar Cosmesis
At 6 months post-operative, patients' scars will be evaluated by two independent trained blinded observers who will use the Patient Observer Scar Assessment Scale (POSAS) and the Vancouver Scar Scale (VSS) to evaluate the cosmesis of the surgical scar. Patients, who are blinded to the type of incision they have received, will also subjectively assign a score to their scar using the POSAS.
Time frame: 6 months
Wound Infection Rate
Superficial incisional surgical site infection as defined by the Centres for Disease Control (CDC).
Time frame: within 6 months post-operatively
Post-operative wound pain
Patients will also be asked to record their daily post-operative incision pain using the visual analogue score (VAS) until post-operative day 5.
Time frame: within 5 days post-operatively
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