Left-sided hepatectomy with a linear stapling device: an experimental study on pigs

Thirteen pigs underwent resection of the left liver lobe. By random selection, the animals were resected either with the aid of an RLG 90R linear stapling device or by the conventional finger-fracture technique. There was one postoperative death due to anaesthetic complications. The median operative time using the stapler was 27 min (range 19-40 min) which was significantly shorter (p = 0.0065) than that required for resection by the finger-fracture technique (42.5 min; range 37-55 min). The median blood loss, estimated by counting the number of gauze swabs used, was 425 ml and 275 ml for the finger-fracture resected and stapler resected groups, respectively (ranges 275-550 ml versus 175-300 ml; p = 0.015). The animals were sacrificed and examined one week after the operative procedure. Except for a small bile pseudo-cyst in one pig operated upon with conventional resection, no sign of bleeding or biliary leakage was revealed. This study demonstrates the feasibility of stapling the liver to facilitate resection.