Utility of the powered stapler for radical pulmonary resection: a propensity score-matched analysis

Anatomical pulmonary resection, such as lobectomy, is a common procedure. Staplers play an important role in dividing an incomplete interlobular fissure, especially in thoracoscopic surgery. This study evaluates the effectiveness of a powered stapler for reducing the need for intraoperative fibrin glue and the incidence of air leakage after radical pulmonary resection.

The subjects of this retrospective study were 478 patients who underwent radical pulmonary resection. Propensity score analysis generated two matched pairs of 177 patients treated using powered and manual staplers, respectively.

The need for fibrin glue intraoperatively during radical pulmonary resection was significantly less in the powered-stapler group (47.5%) than in the manual-stapler group (58.8%, p = 0.033). The incidence of postoperative air leakage following radical pulmonary resection was also significantly lower in the powered-stapler group (2.8%) than in the manual-stapler group (10.7%, p = 0.003). Logistic regression analysis identified use of the powered stapler as a factor independently associated with both non-use of fibrin glue intraoperatively (odds ratio, 0.63; p = 0.040) and no postoperative air leakage (odds ratio, 0.26; p = 0.010).

Using a powered stapler to divide the incomplete interlobular fissure decreased the need for additional intraoperative management using fibrin glue and reduced postoperative air leakage in radical pulmonary resection.