[Intraperitoneal colon anastomosis with laparoscopic purse string suture clamp and Valtrac ring]

In combination with the biofragmentable Valtrac ring a newly developed purse-string suture clamp offers the possibility of performing intraperitoneal anastomoses of the small and large bowel without the need for stapling devices. During this experimental study end-to-end anastomoses of the descending colon were constructed in five pigs. One animal was re-examined on day 1 after the operation and the others were all sacrificed on day 21 after. None of the animals showed any signs of an anastomotic leakage. Little scar tissue was seen macroscopically or histologically in the anastomotic region of the animals sacrificed 3 weeks after the operation. The operative technique presented in this paper might render the so-called assisted laparoscopic procedures for the right hemicolon unnecessary in the future.