Safety of peripheral gastric vessel coagulation during laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy

Introduction: Staple-line bleeding (SLB) is a common issue during laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (SG). Identifying a method or technique intraoperatively to manage or reduce the prevalence of SLB is crucial. Materials and Methods: Patients' data who had undergone primary laparoscopic SG from January 2018 to December 2019 at our hospital were retrospectively analysed. The patients in this study received peripheral gastric vessel coagulation intervention in addition to the standard SG procedure. Preoperative parameters included age, gender, body mass index (BMI), the prevalence of diabetes and hypertension. Intra- and postoperative parameters were prevalence of SLB, operative time, total postoperative stay, the prevalence of leakage and bleeding. Intraoperative SLB was identified and analysed through video recordings. Results: 217 cases of laparoscopic SG were included in the study. The mean preoperative assessments were as follows: age, 34.2 +/- 10.7 years; male/female, 98/119; BMI, 39.9 +/- 7.6 kg/m2; prevalence of diabetes, 52 (24.0%) and hypertension, 90 (41.5%). Of 217 patients, 35 (16%) were found to have SLB following the new interventional procedure. The mean operative time was 93.2 +/- 13.6 min. The mean total postoperative stay was 3.3 +/- 1.3 days. The postoperative prevalence of leakage and bleeding were 0% and 0%, respectively. Conclusion: The technique of coagulating the peripheral gastric vessels to prevent SLB is safe and appears promising. A prospective study comparing with and without peripheral gastric vessel coagulation will be needed in the future.