Compression anastomotic ring-locking procedure (CARP) is a safe and effective method for intestinal anastomoses following left-sided colonic resection

Comparison of the C-REX LapAid and Circular Stapled Colorectal Anastomoses in an Experimental Model

INTRODUCTION

The rate of colorectal anastomotic leakage has remained unchanged for the last decades. The limitations of current anastomotic methods have generated an interest in alternative anastomotic techniques, such as compression anastomosis. The aim of this experimental study was to evaluate the early mechanical strength in left colonic anastomoses, comparing C-REX LapAid and circular stapled anastomotic methods.

METHODS

A total of 48 pigs underwent open sigmoid resection with end-to-end colorectal anastomoses 15 cm above the anal verge, where 21 anastomoses were constructed with traditional circular staplers and 27 with the C-REX LapAid device. Bursting pressure was measured at different time intervals postoperatively through an attached anal plug while the upper limit of the bowel segment was closed with a bowel clamp. Early histological changes were assessed 6-24 h after the anastomotic formation with vascular CD31 and collagen Masson Trichrom staining.

RESULTS

All animals recovered uneventfully after the surgical procedure. The circular stapled anastomoses exhibited a median bursting pressure of 36 mbar (28-64) at 1 h, 45 mbar (43-69) at 6 h, and 145 mbar (85-185) 12 h after surgery. In comparison, the C-REX LapAid anastomoses demonstrated a median bursting pressure of 195 mbar (180-240) at 1 h, 192 mbar (180-220) at 6 h, and 180 mbar (160-180) 12 h after surgery, representing a 2-5-fold higher median bursting pressure in the early anastomotic healing phase. Early microscopic architecture showed little evidence of vascular and collagen formation.

CONCLUSION

The novel C-REX LapAid device demonstrated significantly higher bursting pressure values in the early phase of the anastomotic healing process compared to the circular stapled method. A clinical study to further verify the benefits of C-REX LapAid is warranted.

INTRODUCTION

The rate of colorectal anastomotic leakage has remained unchanged for the last decades. The limitations of current anastomotic methods have generated an interest in alternative anastomotic techniques, such as compression anastomosis. The aim of this experimental study was to evaluate the early mechanical strength in left colonic anastomoses, comparing C-REX LapAid and circular stapled anastomotic methods.

METHODS

A total of 48 pigs underwent open sigmoid resection with end-to-end colorectal anastomoses 15 cm above the anal verge, where 21 anastomoses were constructed with traditional circular staplers and 27 with the C-REX LapAid device. Bursting pressure was measured at different time intervals postoperatively through an attached anal plug while the upper limit of the bowel segment was closed with a bowel clamp. Early histological changes were assessed 6-24 h after the anastomotic formation with vascular CD31 and collagen Masson Trichrom staining.

RESULTS

All animals recovered uneventfully after the surgical procedure. The circular stapled anastomoses exhibited a median bursting pressure of 36 mbar (28-64) at 1 h, 45 mbar (43-69) at 6 h, and 145 mbar (85-185) 12 h after surgery. In comparison, the C-REX LapAid anastomoses demonstrated a median bursting pressure of 195 mbar (180-240) at 1 h, 192 mbar (180-220) at 6 h, and 180 mbar (160-180) 12 h after surgery, representing a 2-5-fold higher median bursting pressure in the early anastomotic healing phase. Early microscopic architecture showed little evidence of vascular and collagen formation.

CONCLUSION

The novel C-REX LapAid device demonstrated significantly higher bursting pressure values in the early phase of the anastomotic healing process compared to the circular stapled method. A clinical study to further verify the benefits of C-REX LapAid is warranted.

New alternative colorectal anastomotic devices: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Colorectal anastomotic devices have been used for nearly a century, with stapled anastomoses being the most common despite leak rates up to 20 ​%. This review aimed to evaluate newer alternative devices.

METHOD

A systematic review and meta-analysis of publications from the last decade were conducted, focusing on devices forming colorectal anastomoses, excluding those facilitating sutured or stapled anastomoses or designed to prevent leaks. Data from MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane, and ClinicalTrials.gov were analysed.

RESULTS

Eighteen studies (7 human, 10 animal, 1 ex-vivo) involving 955 anastomoses were included. Compression mechanisms were the most common. The pooled complication rate in human studies was 9.7 ​% (95 ​% CI: 4.3-15.2 ​%) with significant heterogeneity (I2 ​= ​81.7 ​%). The leak rate after compression anastomoses was 3.3 ​% (95 ​% CI: 1.9-4.7 ​%) with no heterogeneity (I2 ​= ​0 ​%). A novel device with transanal catheters allowed intraoperative and postoperative assessment.

CONCLUSIONS

Outcomes are comparable to existing methods, with new technologies offering promising advancements.

Transanal formation of anastomosis using C-REX device is feasible and effective in high anterior resection

PURPOSE

C-REX is a novel instrument for creating stapleless colorectal anastomosis by compression. The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of C-REX in open and laparoscopic high anterior resections.

METHODS

A prospective clinical safety study on 21 patients reconstructed with C-REX colorectal anastomosis following high anterior resection of the sigmoid colon using two different devices for intraabdominal (n = 6) or transanal (n = 15) placement of the anastomotic rings. Any signs of complications were prospectively monitored by a predefined protocol. Anastomotic contact pressure (ACP) was measured via a catheter-based system, and time for evacuation of the anastomotic rings by the natural route was noted. Blood samples were collected daily, and flexible endoscopy was performed postoperatively to examine macroscopic appearance of the anastomoses.

RESULTS

One of six patients operated with the intraabdominal anastomosis technique with an ACP of 50 mBar had to be reoperated because of anastomotic leakage. None of the 15 patients operated with the transanal technique (5 open and 10 laparoscopic procedures) had anastomotic complications, and their ACP ranged between 145 and 300 mBar. C-REX rings were uneventfully expelled by the natural route in all patients after a median of 10 days. Flexible endoscopy showed well-healed anastomoses without stenosis in 17 patients and a moderate subclinical stricture in one patient.

CONCLUSION

These results indicate that the novel transanal C-REX device is a feasible and effective method for colorectal anastomosis following high anterior resections, irrespective of open or laparoscopic approach. Moreover, C-REX allows measurement of intraoperative ACP and thereby a quantitative evaluation of the anastomotic integrity.

Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis on Colorectal Anastomotic Techniques

Purpose

Anastomosis creation after resective gastrointestinal surgery is a crucial task. The present review examines the techniques and implants currently available for anastomosis creation and analyses to which extent they already address our clinical needs, with a special focus on their potential to enable further trauma minimization in visceral surgery.

Methods

A multi-database research was conducted in MEDLINE, Scopus, and Cochrane Library. Comparative controlled and uncontrolled clinical trials dealing with anastomosis creation techniques in the intestinal tract in both German and English were included and statistically significant differences in postoperative complication incidences were assessed using the RevMan5.4 Review Manager (Cochrane Collaboration, Oxford, UK).

Results

All methods and implant types were analyzed and compared with respect to four dimensions, assessing the techniques' current performances and further potentials for surgical trauma reduction. Postoperative outcome measures, such as leakage, stenosis, reoperation and mortality rates, as well as the tendency to cause bleeding, wound infections, abscesses, anastomotic hemorrhages, pulmonary embolisms, and fistulas were assessed, revealing the only statistically significant superiority of hand-suture over stapling anastomoses with respect to the occurrence of obstructions.

Conclusion

Based on the overall complication rates, it is concluded that none of the anastomosis systems addresses the demands of operative trauma minimization sufficiently yet. Major problems are furthermore either low standardization potentials due to dependence on the surgeons' levels of experience, high force application requirements for the actual anastomosis creation, or large and rigid device designs interfering with flexibility demands and size restrictions of the body's natural access routes. There is still a need for innovative technologies, especially with regard to enabling incisionless interventions.

Innovative approaches for induction of gastrointestinal anastomotic healing: an update on experimental and clinical aspects

PURPOSE

In most cases, traditional techniques to perform an anastomosis following gastrointestinal resections lead to successful healing. However, despite focused research in the field, in certain high-risk situations leakage rates remain almost unchanged. Here, additional techniques may help the surgeon to protect the anastomosis and prevent leakage. We give an overview of some of the latest developments on experimental and clinical techniques for induction of anastomotic healing.

METHODS

We performed a review of the current literature on approaches to improve anastomotic healing.

RESULTS

Many promising approaches with a high clinical potential are in the developmental pipeline. Highly experimental approaches like inhibition of matrix metalloproteinases, stem cell therapy, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, induction of the hypoxic adaptive response, and the administration of growth factors are still in the preclinical phase. Other more clinical developments aim to strengthen the anastomotic suture line mechanically while shielding it from the influence of the microbiome. Among them are gluing, seaming the staple line, attachment of laminar biomaterials, and temporary intraluminal tubes. In addition, individualized bowel preparation, selectively reducing certain detrimental microbial populations could become the next stage of bowel preparation. Compression anastomoses are evolving as an equivalent technique additional to established hand-sewn and stapled anastomoses. Fluorescence angiography and flexible endoscopy could complement intraoperative quality control additionally to the air leak tests. Virtual ileostomy is a concept to prepare the bowel for the easy formation of a stoma in case of leakage.

CONCLUSION

A variety of promising diagnostic and prophylactic measures that may support the surgeon in identifying high-risk anastomoses and support them according to their potential deficits is currently in development.

A systematic analysis of controlled clinical trials using the NiTi CAR™ compression ring in colorectal anastomoses

Anastomotic leak following colorectal surgery can be a devastating adverse event. The ideal stapling device should be capable of rapid creation of an anastomosis with serosal apposition without the persistence of a foreign body or a foreign body reaction which potentially contribute to early anastomotic dehiscence or late anastomotic stricture. A systematic review was performed examining available data on controlled randomized and non-randomized trials assessing the NiTi compression anastomosis ring-(NiTi CAR™) (NiTi Solutions, Netanyah Israel) in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) standards. A protocol for this meta-analysis has been registered on PROSPERO (CRD42016050934). The initial search yielded 45 potentially relevant articles. After screening titles and abstracts for relevance and assessment for eligibility, 39 of these articles were eventually excluded leaving 6 studies for analysis in the review. Regarding the primary outcome measure, the overall anastomotic leak rate was 2.2% (5/230) in the compression anastomosis group compared with 3% (10/335) in the conventional anastomosis group; this difference was not statistically significant (RR 0.75, 95% CI 0.25-2.24; participants = 565; studies = 6; I ² = 0%). There were no statistically significant differences between compression and conventional anastomoses in any of the secondary outcomes. This review was unable to demonstrate any statistically significant differences in favor of the compression anastomosis technique over conventional manual or stapled mechanical anastomoses.