Surgical stapling technique for radical hysterectomy

We developed a new technique for performing radical hysterectomy using surgical staplers. An endoscopic stapler was used to transect the uterosacral and cardinal ligaments and a roticulating stapler with absorbable staples was used to transect the vaginal cuff. Fifteen consecutive patients with primary stage IA2 or IB cervical carcinoma underwent class III radical hysterectomy using the new stapling technique and were compared to the previous 15 consecutive similarly staged patients who underwent class III radical hysterectomy by the traditional clamp, cut, and suture ligation technique. Median operative time for the stapler group was 3 hr (1.3-4 hr) versus 4.3 hr (2.5-5.8 hr) for the traditional technique (P = 0.0002). Estimated blood loss for the stapler technique was 650 ml (200-1200 ml) versus 1100 ml (450-2600 ml) for the traditional technique (P = 0.009). Three patients (20%) received transfusions in the stapler group versus 10 (67%) in the traditional group (P = 0.05). There was no difference in the rate of infections, venous thrombosis, lymphocysts, fistuli, bladder atony, or obstipation between the two groups. At a median follow up of 22 months, only one patient has recurred (from the traditional group). In conclusion, the surgical stapling technique of radical hysterectomy does not appear to adversely affect survival or increase complications while operative blood loss and operative time are significantly reduced.