RESUMO
BACKGROUND: To determine if there is a difference in periocular post-operative infection rates when utilizing new versus re-processed monopolar electrocautery tips. METHODS: Retrospective cohort study of 4,976 consecutive surgical cases involving 17,149 procedures. Post-operative infections were identified using chart review, facility infection surveillance records, and surgeon reporting. The main outcome measure was the presence or absence of infection within 30 post-operative days. The Fischer exact test was used to compare infection rates between cautery modalities. All statistical analysis was conducted at the 0.05 α level. RESULTS: There was no statistically significant difference between new and re-processed monopolar cautery infection rates (p=0.3879). CONCLUSIONS: Post-operative infection rates are similar for periocular surgery using both new and re-processed monopolar cautery. These findings suggest that re-processed cautery is a viable option for periocular surgery to decrease cost and reduce material waste without affecting the quality of care.
