Efficacy of staple line reinforcement by barbed suture for preventing anastomotic leakage in laparoscopic rectal cancer surgery
Bo Ban, An Shang, Jian Shi
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Anastomotic leakage (AL) is a severe complication in rectal cancer surgery. Various methods, including intracorporeal reinforcing suturing, have been used to reduce the incidence of AL. However, little is known about the efficacy of staple-line reinforcement by barbed suture for preventing AL. AIM: To evaluate the efficacy of staple-line reinforcement using barbed suture for preventing AL in laparoscopic surgery for rectal cancer. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the clinical datum of 319 patients undergoing laparoscopic low anterior resection combined with double stapling technique between May 1, 2017 and January 31, 2021. All surgeries were performed by the same surgical team specializing in colorectal surgery. Patients were divided into two groups depending on whether they received reinforcing sutures. Patients' baseline characteristics did not show any significant difference between the two groups. We analyzed patient-, tumor-, as well as surgery-related variables using univariate and multivariate logistic analyses. RESULTS: = 0.038). Nonetheless, no significant difference was found in the low-risk group between the two groups. CONCLUSION: Staple-line reinforcement by barbed suture may decrease the incidence of AL. A large-scale prospective randomized controlled trial is needed for evaluating the efficacy of staple-line reinforcement for preventing AL.