Abstract: PURPOSE: To study the value of ultrasonic knife in submandibular gland surgery. METHODS: Randomized controlled clinical trial was adopted. Forty cases collected from October 2013 to July 2014 who underwent submandibular gland surgery were divided into experimental group and control group. All cases were operated by the same surgical team. Ultrasonic knife was used in the experimental group, while electric knife was used in the control group. The operation time, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative complications and 24 h and 48 h postoperative drainage volume were recorded and compared between the 2 groups. SPSS 10.0 software package was used to analyze the data. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in age, gender, mass size and disease type between the 2 groups (P>0.05). With the same operative procedure, there was no significant difference in postoperative complications (P>0.05). Compared with the control group, the operation time, intraoperative blood loss and 24 h and 48 h postoperative drainage volume were significantly decreased in the experimental group (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Using ultrasonic knife in submandibular gland surgery is safe and reliable, with distinct advantages over electric knife. The tissue damage is less, and postoperative complications are minimal. It is worth of wide application in oral and maxillofacial surgery.

Key words: Utrasonic knife, Submandibular gland surgery, Randomized controlled trial Shanghai J Stomatol, 2015, 24(4):486-488.