Liver resection with the Sonocut ultrasonic knife.

Previous reports and our findings suggest that resection by ultrasound is of appreciable merit in liver surgery. Blood can be saved and bile leakage diminished as the larger vessels and bile ducts can be skeletonized unharmed, whereas the dissector selectively carries away the parenchyma. Otherwise virtually inaccessible tumours can be approached. The ultrasonic dissector/aspirator does not harm the tissue in depth beyond the resection surface and thus not much devitalized tissue is left in the wound.