Projects

Aim: To evaluate the efcacy and usefulness of coblation in laryngotracheal and sinonasal surgeries. Materials And Methods: With approval from the Institutional Ethics Committee of St. John's Medical College Hospital, Bangalore, Karnataka, India, we did a retrospective chart series of 135 patients who underwent coblation assisted otorhinolaryngological surgeries over the past 3 years. Alaryngeal specic radiofrequency plasma ablation device (Coblator Procise LW, smith &nephew) was used for supraglottic lesions, Micro Laryngeal Wand (MLW) was used for glottis, subglottic and tracheal lesions, Procise Max EIC wand was used for sinonasal masses. Results: In all our cases, Coblation was used to perform a range of different procedures, including removal of granulation tissue and early soft stenosis in the trachea, posterior cordotomy in Bilateral abductor palsy, removal of sinonasal tumours, Adenoidectomy, Sphenopalatine artery ligation, choanal atresia repair and creating adequate exposure in skull base tumours. 37 out 47 patients with laryngotracheal stenosis were decannulated after coblation surgery. All 12 patients with bilateral abductor palsy were decannulated. 13 patients with sinonasal masses are still on follow up without any recurrences. Majority of patients experienced good results without major complications in the perioperative period or any post-operative sequelae. Conclusion: Coblation is a relatively new bipolar radiofrequency ablation tool that is gaining favour for laryngotracheal and sinonasal surgeries. Potential benets may include reduced intraoperative bleeding, improved endoscopic visualization, and reduced pain. Coblation is a minimally invasive, highly viable, safe and effective technique which can be recommended for a variety of otolaryngological surgeries.