BACKGROUND: To reduce bleeding in liver resection various technological options have been disclosed, among them the radiofrequency. The intent of the various methods is to avoid vascular clamping, less liver dissection and minimize bleeding. AIM: To present a new technique of parallel bipolar radiofrequency needles developed by the authors and the technical details. METHODS: The needle system has two parallel electrodes (18 gauge each) of 25 cm in length, separated by a distance of 1.5 cm, and only distal 4 cm dissipate energy generated by a bipolar electrocautery. These needles are cooled by an internal cooling system for continuous flow of cold sterile distilled water at 0ºC, whose temperature is maintained through the presence of sterile distilled water ice. The operation is performed under general anesthesia and is not used central venous catheters during or after the procedure. The incisions may be right subcostal and median supra-umbilical. RESULTS: The inical use in liver resection showed an average 87 minutes operation time, average size of abdominal incision of 14 cm and 58 ml of blood loss during surgery. No patient in the inical group received transfusion of blood or blood products. CONCLUSION: The bipolar radiofrequency cooled needles are viable and reduce bleeding in liver resection.
Bipolar radiofrequency; Hepatectomy; Bleeding
