Decreased surgical time with a vessel sealing device versus a surgical stapler in performance of canine splenectomy.

The purpose of this retrospective study of 72 dogs was to compare a vessel sealing device with a surgical stapling device for performance of splenectomy. The results of this study demonstrate a statistically significant shorter surgical time for splenectomy, without an adverse effect on outcomes, performed in dogs with the vessel sealing device (mean time, 58.4 min ± 3.3 min; median time, 60 min; range, 22-131 min) compared with a traditional stapling device (mean time, 66.9 min ± 2.4 min; median time, 66 min; range, 40-100 min). No other significant differences were found between the two groups of patients.