Iatrogenic blood loss during surgery can have several harmful effects on the patient. The blood loss can be significantly minimized by using a variety of vessel sealing devices that use different types of energy sources to seal the blood vessels or tissue bundles and simultaneously cut and coagulate tissues.

The two types of vessel sealing techniques accepted worldwide are based on electrosurgical and ultrasonic technology. The electrosurgical technique uses high frequency electric current while the ultrasonic technique uses ultrasonic energy to cut and coagulate tissues. These devices have been widely employed in various surgical procedures. However, it is not clear if they can induce nerve injury when applied near the nerve tissue. The safe distance to apply these devices from nerves has not been profoundly investigated.

In the current study, a set of electrosurgical and ultrasonically activated surgical devices were surgically tested around the sciatic nerve in a rat model. Monopolar electrosurgery (MES) device and ultrasonically activated (US) blade were applied on the muscle tissue at specific distances from the sciatic nerve. The consequent change in the nerve conduction function was neurophysiologically assessed and analyzed. Also, developmental studies were performed to determine the effects of electrosurgical and ultrasonic shear devices on the sciatic nerve function in the acute as well as sub-acute phase. The sensory nerve function was assessed by means of behavioral changes.

The current study indicates that the US blade appears to be superior in terms of controlling muscle contraction, providing visibility at the surgical site and safe application around the nerve as compared to the MES device. Overall ultrasonically activated devices appear to be superior to electrosurgery devices.