Objective: To systematically evaluate the efficacy and safety of harmonic scalpel in neck dissection.
Method: Available literatures of PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, CBM, CNKI, WangFang and VIP published before June 2014 were searched. Inclusion criteria and quality assessment were performed. All data were analyzed by using RevMan 5.2 software.
Result: Fourteen studies including 632 cases were enrolled. Among them, 319 cases were in harmonic scalpel group and 313 cases in conventional resection group. Compared with conventional resection group, the harmonic scalpel group showed shorter surgery time(weighted mean difference [95% confidence intetval]: -28.01 [-36.83, -19.19], Z = 6.22, P < 0.01)and less intra-operative blood loss (weighted mean difference [95% confidence intetval]: -46.68 [-57.25, -36.12], Z = 8.66, P < 0.01). The number of cervical lymph nodes dissected and the incidence of postoperative chylous leakage were similar in both groups.
Conclusion: Using the harmonic scalpel in neck dissection was as efficient and safe as that of the conventional technique with the advantage of shorter time of surgery and less intraoperative blood loss.