Pullout strength of power- and hand-driven staples in synthetic bone: effect of design parameters

The pullout strength of power-driven and hand-driven staples of different sizes and different leg profiles was investigated in a synthetic bone model. Consistent material properties were reflected in the relatively small standard deviation in pullout strength, which was less than 7% of the mean value for power-driven and less than 10% of the mean value for hand-driven staples. An approximate linear relationship was shown to exist between the mean value of pullout strength and foam density. In paired studies, the mean value of pullout strength was significantly (p less than 0.0005) greater for the power-driven staples than similar size hand-driven staples. It was also shown that a square cross section creates significantly (p less than 0.017) more resistance to pullout force than a circular section of similar or even larger area. Although the pullout strength was not a function of the staple's width, the staple's leg length contributed to its pullout strength in a nonlinear fashion. This study suggests that narrow, long, power-driven staples of rectangular cross section have the best pullout strength for similar cross-sectional area.