The Prostate Project - Offering care and support to prostate cancer sufferers, their families and friends Offering care and support to prostate cancer sufferers, their families and friends

Autumn 2003 Edition
 

State of the art Ligasure machine speeds up prostate and pelvic cancer surgery

Sister Jay Tesoro with the new Ligasure machine at Frimley Park Hospital
Sister Jay Tesoro with the new Ligasure machine at Frimley Park Hospital

Coagulating and sealing blood vessels is vital to many surgical procedures. Conventionally, this happens either by tying the vessel or by the point of a very hot instrument which can, in certain cases, cause distant damage.

This new machine, recently donated by the Prostate Project, is a state-of-the-art diathermy machine. Diathermy means "through heat" and the machine coagulates and seals blood vessels by heating them to very high temperatures and effectively cooking them.

It allows the current to pass only between the blades of the instrument thereby reducing the risk of distant damage. Surgeons at Frimley and Guildford are delighted with the results and are confident it will allow operations to be completed more rapidly, thereby minimising blood loss and the need for transfusions.