In case you’ve nothing better to watch on June 15th at 6pm Central Time, Peter Angelos MD, PhD, Director, Section of Endocrine Surgery at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, will be webcasting a thyroidectomy featuring the Harmonic ACE™ curved shears…
“Thyroidectomy scars are in a prominent location, which makes the prospect of a smaller incision very important to patients,” said Dr. Angelos. “Through our procedural demonstration of the use of minimally invasive techniques, we hope to educate health providers on the patient benefits of the procedure.”
The minimally invasive approach uses specific tools and techniques to make the incision as small as possible to minimize scarring. Dr. Angelos and his associate, Cord Sturgeon, MD, typically perform thyroidectomy with incisions in the range of 2-3 centimeters, about half the size of incisions of those typically performed in the U.S. As a result of minimally invasive procedures, patients typically experience less pain, quicker recovery and smaller scars than patients undergoing an open procedure.
Apparently the Harmonic ACE (TM) has recently received FDA 510K Premarket Approval (.pdf link).
The webcast might be an interesting learning experience for students of all ages. Unfortunately, you’ll need to download RealPlayer to watch. Tune in to the following link for the main event (or to sign up for an email reminder).
More from OR-Live…