Staple Formations in Bronchial Closure with Equal-Height Staples to Those with Graduated-Height Staples Using Motorized Staplers.

PURPOSE: Motorized automatic staplers are used for bronchial closure following pulmonary resection. This study aimed to compare the completeness of staple formation in bronchial closure using 2 commonly adopted staple cartridges with motorized automatic staplers as follows: graduated-height staples (GHS) and equal-height staples (EHS).

METHODS

This prospective observational study included 103 patients (105 bronchial stumps) undergoing pulmonary resections for lung cancer. Resected bronchi were embedded in paraffin, X-rays were taken, and staple formations were scored on a 0-4 scale, with a score of 4 indicating complete staple formation. Stump scores represented the average score of all staples per bronchial stump.

RESULTS

The GHS exhibited a higher incidence of staple scores above the median (3.91) than that of the EHS (37/59 [62.7%] vs. 19/46 [41.3%], respectively; p = 0.033). Additionally, the GHS had a higher rate of complete staple formation than that in the EHS (84.7% vs. 75.1%; p <0.0001). This difference was more evident in calcified bronchi (84.2% vs. 57.6%, respectively; p <0.0001). No bronchopleural fistula was observed in any patients during the year.

CONCLUSION

Staple formations were generally more complete in the GHS than in the EHS. This difference was particularly notable in calcified bronchi.