Improved wound healing with a modified electrosurgical electrode.

Previous studies comparing standard electrosurgical (ES) electrode and steel scalpel (SS) wound healing have reported poor initial tensile strength, a delay in reaching maximum tensile strength and an increased inflammatory response in the ES wounds. The hypothesis that a smaller needle (modified) electrode would give better wound healing than a standard electrode was tested. Using histology as a parameter of wound healing, incisions created by a modified electrode, a standard electrode and a steel scalpel were compared. Sixty Sha Sha mice were divided into 10 groups. Standardised dorsal skin incisions were made using steel scalpel, standard and modified electrosurgical cutting electrodes. Mice were sacrificed on days 0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 14, 28 and 42. The incised skin was processed for standard and immunohistochemical staining. The standard ES wound had significantly higher numbers of polymorphonuclear leukocytes in comparison to the SS and modified ES wounds (p less than or equal to 0.01). However, macrophage numbers were found to be significantly lower in the ES wounds when compared to the SS wounds on days two and five (p less than or equal to 0.05). The fibroblast response was delayed by up to two days in the ES wounds when compared to the SS wounds. Epithelialisation was completed by day two in the SS and modified ES groups but was only complete by day three in the standard ES group (p less than or equal to 0.01).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)