Gastric Wall Thickness and the Choice of Linear Staples in Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy: Challenging Conventional Concepts

Background: Little evidence is available on the choice of linear staple reloads in laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG). Previous literature recommends matching closed staple height (CSH) to tissue-thickness (TT) to avoid ischemia. Our objective was to examine feasibility and safety of “tight” hemostatic (CSH/TT <1) stapling and map the entire gastric wall TT in LSG patients. Methods: Prospectively collected outcomes on 202 consecutive patients who underwent LSG with tight order of staples (Ethicon Endosurgery) in this order: pre-pylorus—black (CSH = 2.3 mm), antrum—green (CSH = 2.0 mm), antrum/body—blue (CSH = 1.5 mm), and white (CSH = 1.0 mm) on the body and fundus. Measurements of entire gastric wall TT were made on the first 100 patients’ gastric specimens with an electronic-dogmatic indicator. Results: Study included 147 females and 55 males with a mean age of 41.5 ± 11.9 years and body mass index of 41.5 ± 3.8 kg/m². Gastric wall measurements revealed mean CSH/TT ratio <1, decreasing from 0.7 ± 0.1 at pre-pylorus to 0.5 ± 0.1 at the fundus. There were 3.1% mechanical failures, mainly (68%) at pre-pylorus—black reloads. Post-operative bleeding occurred in 5 (2.5%) patients. There were no leaks or clinical evidence of sleeve ischemia. Stepwise regression analysis revealed that body mass index (P < 0.001), hypertension (P < 0.01), and male gender (P < 0.001) were associated with increased gastric TT. Conclusions: Our study suggests that reloads with CSH/TT <1 in LSG including staples with CSH of 1 mm on body and fundus are safe. The results challenge the concept that tight stapling cause’s ischemia. Since tight reloads are designed to improve hemostasis, their application could have clinical benefit.