Background Reports of iatrogenic thermal injuries during laparoscopic surgery using new
generation vessel-sealing devices, as well as anecdotal reports of hand burn injuries during
hand-assisted surgeries, have evoked questions about the temperature safety profile and
the cooling properties of these instruments. Methods This study involved video recording of
temperatures generated by different instruments (Harmonic ACE [ACE], Ligasure V [LV], and
plasma trisector [PT]) applied according the manufacturers' pre-set settings (ACE setting 3; …