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Updated: Jun 16, 2026
Application of Straight-needle, Three-tailed, Knot-free, Peritoneal Sutures in Laparoscopic Transabdominal Preperitoneal Hernia Repair
Published on: November 12, 2021
Comparison of postoperative pain after needle grasper-assisted single-incision laparoscopic appendectomy versus
Byung Kwan Park1, Jong Won Kim1, Suk Won Suh1
1Department of Surgery, Chung-Ang University Hospital, Chung-Ang University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Purpose:
This study was performed to compare the efficacies of newly developed needle grasper-assisted (Endo Relief) single-incision laparoscopic appendectomy (NASILA) and single-incision laparoscopic appendectomy (SILA).
Methods:
This study enrolled 110 patients with acute appendicitis without periappendiceal abscess, diagnosed using computed tomography, who were randomized to the SILA (n = 54) and NASILA groups (n = 56) between December 2017 and August 2018 (6 patients withdrawn). The NASILA technique entailed a small umbilical incision for the glove port (equivalent to that for a 12-mm trocar), and a 2.5-mm suprapubic incision for the needle grasper.
Results:
The SILA and NASILA groups included 49 (male, 61.2%) and 55 (male, 54.5%) patients, respectively. Age, body mass index, abdominal surgical history, symptom duration, and use of patient-controlled analgesia did not differ significantly between the 2 groups. The main wound size was significantly smaller in the NASILA group than in the SILA group (1.8 ± 0.4 cm vs. 2.2 ± 0.4 cm, P < 0.001). The operative time and estimated blood loss did not differ significantly between both groups. The immediate postoperative pain score, i.e., the primary endpoint, was significantly lower in the NASILA group than in the SILA group (2.33 ± 0.98 vs. 2.82 ± 1.29, P = 0.031). The complaints for scar status 1 month postoperatively did not differ significantly between the groups.
Conclusion:
NASILA could attenuate postoperative pain by minimizing the size of the surgical wound; further, NASILA may not be inferior to SILA in terms of cosmetic results.
