F. Konishi et al., SUTURELESS ANASTOMOSIS USING A BIOFRAGMENTABLE ANASTOMOSIS RING, SURGERY TODAY-THE JAPANESE JOURNAL OF SURGERY, 25(9), 1995, pp. 783-789
The biofragmentable anastomosis ring (BAR) is composed of polyglycolic
acid and barium sulfate. When used for intestinal anastomosis, the BA
R fragments after the anastomosis is established. We used this device
in 43 patients. In three patients, the anastomosis with BAR was abando
ned due to technical difficulties. A total of 43 anastomoses with BAR
were performed in 40 patients. The operations in which BAR was used in
cluded right hemicolectomy in 12 patients, transverse colectomy in 7,
sigmoidectomy in 11, small bowel resection in 5 and other bowel resect
ions in 8. The time spent for the BAR anastomsis ranged from 7 to 30 m
in with a mean of 15.2 min, which was significantly shorter than that
of conventional hand-sutured anastomosis in 23 cases. The fragmentatio
n and excretion of the BAR occurred from 14 to 49 days later with a me
an of 21.8 days. There was only one instance of anastomotic leakage (1
/40, 2.5%), which occurred in a patient with a cytomegaloviral infecti
on of the intestine. A postoperative barium enema study in 28 patients
showed no passage disturbance through the anastomosis. In conclusion,
the anastomosis using BAR is considered to be a simple, safe, and fas
t method for performing either colonic or small intestinal anastomosis
.