26. Advanced hemostasis and dissection

Hemostasis originally depended on ligation with sutures. The next big step was electrocoagulation with alternating high frequency current. This technique is still commonly applied in monopolar and bipolar settings. Over the past few decades, new techniques have been developed, which have taken hemostasis and dissection to the next level. The advanced techniques most commonly applied are computer controlled bipolar sealing and ultrasonic dissection. The concepts of these techniques are explained in this chapter.