V-Loc™ 180 suture in total laparoscopic hysterectomy: a retrospective study comparing Polysorb to barbed suture used for vaginal cuff closure.

OBJECTIVE: Sutures in laparoscopy have been extensively developed in recent years. In this study, we assessed differences between Polysorb™ braided absorbable suture (CL-914) and V-Loc™ barbed suture (V-Loc 180) used in vaginal cuff closure during laparoscopic hysterectomy from various aspects.

STUDY DESIGN: This paper presented a prospective cohort study of 490 consecutive women underwent total laparoscopic hysterectomy (TLH) performed between January 2013 and September 2015 applying identical procedure technique, with cuff closure approaches selected by surgeons. Data collected included operative time, estimated blood loss, postoperative changes in body temperature, perioperative routine blood parameters changes, total average hospital stay, and postoperative hospital stay. In addition, short-term (at least 6 months) outcomes of vaginal cuff granulomatous (VCG) between the two suture approaches were compared.

RESULTS: Between groups, statistical differences were detected in operative duration, estimated blood loss, total and postoperative hospital stay, WBC, neutrophil counts and Hb in postoperative routine blood parameters; while there were no significant differences in other data (all P>0.05). Postoperative routine blood parameters in each group: compared to preoperative baseline, in Group 1, WBC, N increased (P<0.05), while RBC, Hb decreased (P<0.05). In Group 2, same tendency in WBC, N and Hb was indicated, but RBC increased with no significant difference. In both groups, vaginal cuff healing was well, with no dehiscence. VCG occurred more often in women used CL-914 than women applied V-Loc 180.

CONCLUSIONS: V-Loc barbed suture can be used for vaginal cuff closure during TLH due to advantages such as less operative duration and blood loss, shorter postoperative and total hospital stay, and reduced VCG formation six months after TLH.