Mastectomy

Mastectomy

Mastectomies are essential in saving lives, but can be a very emotional experience for your patients. The goal is to help ease this emotional burden while achieving the best medical outcomes, with minimal signs of tissue trauma and scarring. Reducing tissue insult can speed recovery and help return patients to their normal lives faster.

HARMONIC FOCUS

Our HARMONIC FOCUS® Curved Shears employ ultrasonic energy to cut and coagulate soft tissue, and may provide the following benefits when used in mastectomy:

  • No current-induced neuromuscular stimulation since no electricity passes through or to the patient.1
  • Improved procedural efficiency and reduced instrument exchanges since you can dissect, cut, and coagulate with a single device.1
  • 62.5% reduction in breast drainage and a 36% reduction in drain days, as compared to conventional surgery.*
  • Seal vessels up to 5mm, as well as lymphatics.
  • Minimal thermal spread and desiccation of tissue.

To help achieve excellent wound closure outcomes following a mastectomy, Ethicon offers several innovative technologies, including:

STRATAFIX

STRATAFIX™ Knotless Tissue Control Devices – a unique anchoring technology to maintain closure without knots:

  • More consistent tension control and approximation with each pass than with traditional sutures
  • Strength and security of interrupted suturing without knot-related complications1,122,123,133,141,145,150,153
  • More efficient than continuous suturing with traditional sutures1,122,123,133,141,145,150,153
DERMABOND

DERMABOND™ PRINEO™ Skin Closure System provides a triad of benefits to help you achieve excellent cosmetic outcomes

  • STRONG – supports skin closure with strength equivalent to 3-0 MONOCRYL™ (poliglecaprone 25) subcuticular sutures ex vivo1
  • EFFICIENT – may reduce final layer of skin closure time by up to 75%1
  • PROTECTIVE – provides a flexible microbial barrier in vitro1
MONOCRYL Plus

MONOCRYL™ Plus Antibacterial (poliglecaprone 25) Sutures provide benefits required for ideal subcuticular skin closure

  • Provides strength through critical healing period (5-7 days)
  • Protection against bacterial colonization of the suture by organisms commonly associated with surgical site infections
  • Monofilament design that passes smoothly through tissue186,187

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Site References

  • * Mean breast drainage and mean drain days were 22.5 ml (11.3-40.0) and 2.1 (±1.1) for HARMONIC FOCUS® and 60.0 ml (40.0-111.2) and 3.3 (±1.1) for conventional surgery. Conventional surgery is defined as scissors in combination with monopolar and bipolar electrocautery. Breast conserving surgery is lumpectomy or segmentectomy with removal of the tumor and sufficient normal breast tissue to ensure both tumor free specimen margins and a satisfactory cosmetic result.115
  • Based on pre-clinical testing of lymphatic vessels up to and including 1 mm in diameter.1

Looking for more specific instruction regarding our devices or procedure videos? Here you can utilize various related materials and media. For the full steps to use of any of our devices, please refer to the package insert.

Downloads

Mastectomy surgery

HARMONIC® Devices use ultrasonic energy to cut and coagulate soft tissue. The low-temperature, directed mechanical energy reduces tissue damage and may reduce inflammation which has been linked to increased perceptions of pain as compared to monopolar electrosurgery,* making HARMONIC Technology excellent for use in breast cancer diagnosis and treatment.

How it works:

  • The handset converts electricity into longitudinal motion, making the blade vibrate at 55,500 Hz.
  • This low-frequency ultrasonic energy creates cellular friction when applied to soft tissue.
  • Amino acids in the proteins reshape, and hydrogen bonds break down, for an efficient cut.
  • The amino acids reform into a sticky coagulum that reliably seals small vessels – and it does it at a temperature under 100ºC.1

HARMONIC SYNERGY® Blades provide reduced trauma because energy is applied parallel to the applied force.1 HARMONIC FOCUS® Curved Shears provide:

  • 62.5% reduction in breast drainage and a 36% reduction in drain days, as compared to conventional surgery.
  • Minimal lateral damage and desiccation of soft tissue due to the device’s lower operating temperature.

Both HARMONIC FOCUS and SYNERGY Devices:

  • Effectively seal lymphatic vessels.
  • Because no electricity is passed to or through your patient, HARMONIC® Instruments do not cause current-induced neuromuscular stimulation.1

Site References

  • * In a pre-clinical study, necropsy and histological evaluations indicated a significant reduction in acute inflammation for skeletal muscle wounds created by the HARMONIC Blade vs. monopolar electrosurgery at 3, 7, and 21 days post-op (p value = 0.011 for all post-operative periods). Per NIH, the definition of inflammation is "A response of redness, swelling, pain, and a feeling of heat in certain areas that is meant to protect tissues affected by injury or illness." (http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/glossary=inflammation)1
  • Mean breast drainage and mean drain days were 22.5 ml (11.3-40.0) and 2.1 (±1.1) for HARMONIC FOCUS® and 60.0 ml (40.0-111.2) and 3.3 (±1.1) for conventional surgery. Conventional surgery is defined as scissors in combination with monopolar and bipolar electrocautery. Breast conserving surgery is lumpectomy or segmentectomy with removal of the tumor and sufficient normal breast tissue to ensure both tumor free specimen margins and a satisfactory cosmetic result.115
  • Based on pre-clinical testing of lymphatic vessels up to and including 1mm in diameter.1