Use of the Shaw scalpel in head and neck surgery.

Fifty patients undergoing a variety of head and neck surgical procedures were used to study a new thermally activated scalpel. No electric current passes through the patient and, thus, no ground pad is needed. Subjective equipment evaluation resulted in mean scores of 3.8 (1 = worthless and 5 = excellent) for effectiveness of hemostasis and 4.1 for blade sharpness. The Shaw scalpel system is a worthwhile surgical tool 70% of the time. It is excellent for raising flaps and for use in precise surgery where small capillary bleeding typically obscures visibility (ie, parotid surgery).