Marco Del Chiaro, John Blomber
Abstract
Context LigaSureTM is considered safe in performing pancreatoduodenectomy (PD). However, no data are available regarding the possible damage of tissues at the resection margins and the impact thereof on histologic margin assessment. Objective This study compares the degree of histologic damage to the resection margins when using LigaSureTM (group 1) or traditional ligature (group 2). Methods Both groups included 8 consecutive patients who underwent PD at Karolinska Institute in December 2013 (group 1) or earlier (group 2) by the same surgeon (MDC). The quality of tissues at the circumferential margins was compared between both groups by scoring for three different kinds of damage: tissue fragmentation, hemorrhage, and cell damage. Results The mean score for fragmentation was 1.3 (group 1) versus 1.7 (group 2; p=0.1). For hemorrhage the mean score was 0.8 (group 1) versus 1.5 (group 2; p=0.04). The mean score for celldamage was 1.4 (group 1) compared to 1.2 (group 2; p=0.1). Conclusions LigaSureTM does not cause tissue damage that could affect histologic margin assessment in PD specimens.