Comparison of the effectiveness of stainless-steel scalpel and electrocautery in oral mucoperiosteal incision wound outcome, in oral major surgical procedure – A clinical trial

Precise incisions are essential in oral and maxillofacial surgery where controlled access and optimal healing are critical for successful outcomes. Scalpel blades are traditionally used for oral incision which offers refined cutting precision but poses challenges such as bleeding and the need for additional hemostatic measure. Alternative source to achieve hemostasis was electrocautery.  This results in cauterizing the blood vessels in the surgical site and provides a bloodless field. Although numerous studies have investigated parameters such as blood loss, incision time and healing for both technique the impact on scar formation remains underexplored. This study aims to compare the effectiveness of electrocautery and scalpel based on fate of incision by assessing the scar formation, bleeding, wound healing, pain and time taken for incision. The study design is randomized clinical trial with sample size of 26. Inclusion criteria are patients who require oral vestibular incision for management and correction of any facial deficits, orthognathic surgical procedures which require intra oral vestibular incision, Oral and Maxillofacial pathologies involving only hard tissue which require intra-oral mucosal incision, patient more than 18 years old, healthy patients under ASA I and II. Exclusion criteria include medically compromised patients such as patients with history of bleeding disorder, collagen disorder, diabetes, hypertension, ASA III, IV, V and VI, presence of bone fractures in the region, presence of pathology along the line of incision, presence of intraoral laceration or wound in the site of incision, presence of ecchymosis in the site of incision.