Objective: The purpose of the present study was to compare the bursting pressure of large arteries sealed with hand made bipolar vessel sealer (BVS) using flexible electrosurgical system (HemoSaccab) and the BiClamp.
Material and method: Sixteen common carotid arteries from a fresh cadaver were sealed using BVS and BiClamp 4 times sequentially for burst testing. A catheter was placed into the open end of the specimen and secured with a purse-string suture. The catheter was connected to a pressure monitor and saline was infused until there was leakage from the sealed end defining the bursting pressure in mmHg. Both devices were used to seal an additional 2 vessels in each group, which were sent for histologic examination. Student's t-test was performed.
Results: The BVS's mean burst pressure was statistically higher than that of the BiClamp (573 vs 442 mmHg) (p < 0.001).
Conclusion: The flexible system of BVS is superior to the BiClamp device for sealing the common carotid artery because the BiClamp automatically finished the sealing process before the sealing area was completely dessicated.