Anastomotic techniques in minimally invasive bariatric surgery

Background: Recommendations for the use of specific anastomotic techniques are not available in laparoscopic bariatric surgery. Recommendation criteria should consider the rate of insufficiency, bleeding, tendency to stricture or ulceration as well as the impact on weight loss or dumping. Objective: This article gives a review of the available evidence on the anastomotic techniques of typical surgical procedures in laparoscopic bariatric surgery. Material and methods: The current literature was reviewed and is discussed regarding anastomotic techniques for Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB), one-anastomosis gastric bypass (OAGB), single anastomosis sleeve ileal (SASI) bypass and biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch (BPD-DS). Results: Fewcomparative studies exist, except for the RYGB. In RYGB gastrojejunostomy, a complete manual suture was shown to be equivalent to a mechanical anastomosis. In addition, the linear staple suture showed slight advantages over the circular stapler in terms of wound infections and bleeding. The anastomosis technique of the OAGB and SASI can be performed entirely with a linear stapler or with suture closure of the anterior wall defect. There seems to be an advantage of manual anastomosis in BPD-DS. Conclusion: Due to the lack of evidence, no recommendations can be made. Only in RYGB was there an advantage of the linear stapler technique with hand closure of the stapler defect compared to the linear stapler. In principle, prospective, randomized studies should be strived for.