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CompletedNCT05471466Updated Jul 22, 2022

Scar Outcomes for Scalpel Versus Diathermy Neck Incisions in an Afro-Caribbean Population

An interventional study of Surgical incision in Surgical Incision, sponsored by CeLois Lawrence. Completed at 1 site in Jamaica. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2022-07-22.

Sponsored by CeLois Lawrence · Not applicable, Interventional, and Other

From the registry’s dates

  • Registered 2 years 10 months after the study started (first participant enrolled Aug 2019, registered Jul 2022).
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
35
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

This is randomized controlled double-blinded trial comparing the scar outcomes of diathermy versus scalpel surgical incisions in the neck. It was conducted in humans in an Afro-Caribbean (black) population.

Read the detailed description

This double-blinded parallel group randomized controlled trial included consecutive eligible Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) patients at a Jamaican tertiary hospital requiring an anterior neck incision. The purpose was to determine whether cutting diathermy adversely affected scar cosmesis in an Afro-Caribbean population and whether complexion influenced this outcome. Half of the incision in each of 35 patients was randomly assigned to either cutting electrocautery or scalpel. The patients and the assessor of the scars were blinded and the both sides of the scar were assessed by both parties using the patient component of the Patient and Observer Scar Assessment Score (PSAS) and the Vancouver Scar Scale (VSS) at 1 week, 3 months and 6 months postoperative intervals. The Fitzpatrick Phototyping Scale was used for skin pigmentation classification.

02

Conditions studied

  • Surgical Incision

Keywords

  • Skin Wound
  • Afro-Caribbean or black skin
  • Diathermy or electrosurgical unit
  • Neck surgery
  • Scalpel Wound
03

In context

Surgical Wound

315 studies on the registry are indexed under Surgical Wound; 57 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 35 is below the median of 66 across 242 interventional studies indexed under Surgical Wound.

Browse Surgical Wound studies →

Lead sponsor

This is the only study on the registry with CeLois Lawrence as lead sponsor.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • The following are the conditions for inclusion in the study:

    1. Subjects must be 18 years of age or older and give written
    2. Treatment for surgical condition requires the type of neck incision that would be used for a standard thyroidectomy i.e. a horizontal incision about 2 fingers' breadth above the sternal notch or in a skin crease close to that landmark extending from the anterior border of one sternocleidomastoid muscle to another.
    3. Only elective surgical cases will be included
    4. Only primary incisions will be included i.e. no completion thyroidectomies or scar revisions to the neck
    5. Only clean surgeries will be included
    6. All wounds must be closed primarily i.e. no wounds healed by secondary intention or delayed primary closure or flap or graft coverage will be included

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • The following are conditions for exclusion from the study:

    1. Subjects with skin pathologies i.e. patients with dermatological conditions, skin infections, altered pigmentation to the neck, use of skin-lightening agents to the neck, or neurofibromatosis will be excluded.
    2. Surgeries requiring a drain (This is a relative exclusion criterion as subjects with drains that are pulled through skin outside of the incision site may be included. However, patient must consent to this prior).
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(1)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

Informed consent

Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.

You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.

05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Other
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Double (Participant, Outcomes assessor)
Enrollment
35 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Active comparator
    Diathermy- Electrosurgical Unit Cutting Settings

    One half of the neck incision in each participant was made using diathermy (electrosurgical unit cutting settings at 15 watts Blend One mode).

    Procedure: Surgical incision

  • Active comparator
    Scalpel- Surgical Blade

    One half of the neck incision in each participant was made using a scalpel (size 10 surgical blade).

    Procedure: Surgical incision

Interventions

  • ProcedureSurgical incision

    Surgical incisions to the neck as part of the management of the head and neck condition.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Difference between diathermy and scalpel scar cosmesis- Total PSAS.

    Difference in scar cosmesis between the diathermy and scalpel sides of the scar as assesses by the Total Patient Scar Assessment Score (PSAS) on a scale of 6 to 60 where 6 is as per normal skin and 60 is very different from normal skin. There were measured at 1 week, 3 months, and 6 months post-surgery.

    Time frame: Six months

  2. Difference between diathermy and scalpel scar cosmesis- Overall PSAS.

    Difference in scar cosmesis between the diathermy and scalpel sides of the scar as assesses by the Overall Patient Scar Assessment Score (PSAS) on a scale of 1 to 10 where 1 is as per normal skin and 10 is very different from normal skin. These were measured at 1 week, 3 months, and 6 months post-surgery.

    Time frame: Six months

  3. Difference between diathermy and scalpel scar cosmesis- VSS.

    Difference in scar cosmesis between the diathermy and scalpel sides of the scar as assesses by the Vancouver Scar Scale (VSS) on a scale of 0 to 13 where 0 is as per normal skin and 13 is the most extreme difference from normal skin. These were measured at 1 week, 3 months, and 6 months post-surgery.

    Time frame: Six months

Secondary outcomes

  1. Difference in scar cosmesis based on skin complexion.

    Difference in scar cosmesis based on Fitzpatrick Phototyping category (skin complexion) on a scale of 1 to 6 where 1 is the lightest skin complexion and 6 is the darkest. This is as per the Total Patient Scar Assessment Score (PSAS), Overall PSAS and the Vancouver Scar Scale (VSS) measured at 1 week, 3 months, and 6 months post-surgery.

    Time frame: Six months

07

Study locations

1 site
  • Kingston Public Hospital
    Kingston, Jamaica
08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: Yes — Individual patient data directly related to the research outcomes in the publication will be shared upon request.

Supporting information: Study protocol, Informed consent form

Time frame: The data will become available up to 2 years after the date of publication/ journal issue.

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Jul 22, 2022, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT05471466
Lead sponsor
CeLois Lawrence
Collaborators
The University of The West Indies
Responsible party
CeLois Lawrence (Senior Resident- Department of Ear, Nose and Throat, Kingston Public Hospital) — Sponsor-investigator
First posted
Jul 22, 2022
Start date
Aug 21, 2019
Primary completion
Jan 25, 2021
Completion
Jan 25, 2021
Last update
Jul 22, 2022

Study contacts

CeLois Lawrence, BSc MBBS
principal investigator · Kingston Public Hospital

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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This study is completed, as verified in Jul 2022. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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