Bladder and bowel injury after electrodesiccation with Kleppinger bipolar forceps. A clinicopathologic study.

To evaluate the extent of electrocoagulation damage in tissue undergoing bipolar desiccation, five mature female pigs were used as models of tissue and adjacent vital structures commonly encountered during operative laparoscopy. Electrocoagulation was performed on bowel mesentery, sidewall peritoneum, ureters, uterus, uterotubal junction and broad ligament; superficial bowel and bladder burns were treated. Kleppinger forceps were also used to coagulate various-sized arteries to determine hemostasis. Histopathologic analysis demonstrated no inflammation or tissue destruction beyond the desiccated area seen immediately after coagulation and no direct correlation between tissue thickness and spread of electrocoagulation. It also appears that blood vessel hemostasis can be achieved safely with Kleppinger forceps on vessels up to 3 mm in diameter.