Scalpel vs Diathermy in Making Abdominal Wall Incision During Repeat Cesarean Delivery

It is hypothesized that wall incisions made by diathermy compared to scalpel during repeat cesarean delivery will have less incision time, as well as less blood loss. A second hypothesis is that the use of diathermy, compared with scalpel will not increase in post-operative pain.

1. This is a randomized prospective study in women undergoing elective repeat cesarean delivery at Medical Center Hospital in Odessa Texas.
2. Women undergoing cesarean delivery will be randomized into two groups: One group will undergo diathermy to incise the entire abdominal wall ,which includes skin, subcutaneous tissue, rectus muscle until the peritoneal cavity is visible. On the other group scalpel will be used to achieve the same aim.
3. A standardized abdominal wall incision will be made with either diathermy in cut mode or scalpel. Diathermy will be set in a cut mode with standard setting as per surgeons preference. All patients in the study will get standard skin incision in terms of length and depth which will be marked by a ruler.
4. Incision time ( measured in minutes and seconds with stop watch) and amount of bleeding will be measured. Blood loss will be calculated by weighing (in grams) the "used" lap sponges and comparing this to the weight (in grams0 of "fresh" lap sponges.
5. Post-operative pain will be measured by a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). Measurements will be taken at 6:00 to 7:00 AM from post -op day 1 until hospital discharge.