blunt dissection

blunt dissection

SURGERY

Definition The separation of tissues–dissection–along fascial planes with a blunt instrument, which preserves locoregional architecture and structural integrity of nerves, vessels, and lymph nodes.

Comment Blunt dissection is typically used to evaluate the head & neck region, of the

• Living–e.g., during exploratory surgery, the

• Living dead–e.g., radical neck dissections for cancer, and the

• Dead–e.g., postmortem evaluation of the trachea, epiglottis, and pharynx in paediatric autopsies