Retained or expelled staples after transanal stapled surgery: this is the problem!

摘要

Study objective: The aim is to assess the presence and persistence of the agraphes at the level of staple line after transanal stapled surgery. Methods: From April to December 2016 one-hundred-thirteen patients with variable follow-up (6 months-10 years) were randomly selected among all the patients undergone transanal stapled surgery for haemorrhoidal disease or functional disorders such as obstructed defecation syndrome. Only 87 patients agreed to participate this study. All the patients underwent digital exploration, anoscopy and 360?° tridimensional transanal ultrasound. Main results: Different types of stapled transanal surgical procedures were performed: 48 transanal rectal resection with high volume device, 24 stapled haemorrhoidopexy, 8 Double Stapled Haemorrhoidopexy, 7 Transtarr. In 41.4% the staple line was not identified with digital examination or anoscopy and 17.2% of patients have some staples partially expelled inside the lumen. 360?° tridimensional transanal ultrasound showed a complete staple line at the ano-rectal junction which appears as an interrupted hyperechoic circular layer. Conclusion: The staples after stapled transanal surgery remain at the level of the staple line independently from the device used by the surgeon leading to the necessity of a shared and adequate language, in fact the shed staples need to be considered as expelled instead of retained.