Comparison of hypocalcemia rates between LigaSure and clamp‐and‐tie hemostatic technique in total thyroidectomies

Feng‐Yu Chiang MD  Kang Dae Lee MD, PhD  Kyung Tae MD, PhD  Ralph P. Tufano MD, PhD  Che‐Wei Wu MD, PhD  I‐Cheng Lu MD, PhD  Pi‐Ying Chang MD  Yi‐Chu Lin MD  Tzu‐Yen Huang MD
First published: 26 July 2019 https://doi.org/10.1002/hed.25884
Read the full text
ePDFPDFTOOLS SHARE
Abstract
Background
Postoperative hypocalcemia (PH) is a serious complication after total thyroidectomy. This study aimed to compare PH rates between LigaSure Small Jaw (LSJ) and clamp‐and‐tie hemostatic technique in patients undergoing total thyroidectomy.

Methods
Four hundred twenty patients were divided into two groups: group L (210 patients) performed with LSJ and group C (210 patients) with clamp‐and‐tie technique. Serum ionized calcium (iCa) was measured before and 12, 24, 48, 72 hours after surgery. PH was defined as iCa lower than 4.2 mg/dL in at least two measurements.

Results
There was no significant difference between groups in sex, age, extent of surgery, pathology, and the strategy of intraoperative management of parathyroid glands (PG). The PH rate was significantly lower in group L compared to group C (22.9% vs 32.4%, P = .03).

Conclusions
Compared to clamp‐and‐tie technique, LigaSure is superior to decrease PH rate after total thyroidectomy.