Abstract

Aim:Monopolar electrocautery (MEC) or bipolar electrocautery (BEC) are surgical instruments commonly used in spinal surgery. In our study, we aimed to determine the bowel end pathologies induced by sacral parasympathetic network degeneration due to the use of MEC or BEC in spinal surgery.
Materials and Methods: Twenty male hybrid rabbits were used in the study,5 in the control group, 7 in the BEC group, and 8 in the MEC group. We used Th11-L2 spinal laminectomy for the operation technique. After 1 week, the animals’ abdominal organs were examined on computerized tomography, and then the animals were sacrificed. The descending colon and Onuf’s nucleus/S4 spinal ganglia were histopathologically examined. The colonic degeneration scores were numbered as follows: normal (0P),vasospasm (1P),endothelial injury (2P), thrombus (3P),colonic wall injury (4P),inflammation (5P),colonic mucosal degeneration (6P),Auerbach myenteric ganglion degeneration (7P), and necrosis (8P).The groups were scored according to a total of 36 points, and the results were compared with the number of degenerated pudendal ganglion neurons.
Results:The mean numbers of normal neurons (NND)/degenerated neurons (DND) were 22.610±962/5±2, 21.617±890/103±21, and 16.692±641/345±62 in the control, BEC, MEC groups, respectively. The colonic degeneration score was 31 points in the MEC group.Our results were statistically significant.
Conclusion:In this study, we found that high-voltage electrical devices such as MEC/BEC may cause bowel pathologies due to their harmful effects on the Adamkiewicz artery/sacral parasympathetic network and should not be used in spinal surgery unless necessary.

Key words: Electrocautery knives, bowel,spinal surgery