Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of self-retaining barbed suture in renorrhaphy during laparoscopic partial nephrectomy by comparing surgical outcomes in a prospective randomized manner.
Material and methods: From July 2014 to July 2015, a total of 60 patients with T1 renal tumor were randomized into two equal groups: self-retaining barbed suture (SRBS) and conventional absorbable polyglactin suture (non-SRBS group). All patients were treated by retroperitoneal laparoscopic partial nephrectomy. One surgeon with high volume experience performed all procedures. The patient demographics and perioperative outcomes were compared.
Results: The patient demographics and tumor characteristics were comparable. The mean tumor size and R.E.N.A.L. scores were comparable between the two groups. LPN was successfully accomplished in all patients without open conversion. The warm ischemia and renorrhaphy times were significantly shorter in the SRBS group (18.8 ± 8.2 vs. 22.9 ± 7.3 min, P = .04; 10.4 ± 3.7 vs. 13.8 ± 5.6 min, P = .01). The minor complication rate was 13.3% vs. 10.0%, which was comparable. No major complication occurred.
Conclusions: The randomized controlled trial demonstrates that SRBS for renorrhaphy during retroperitoneal laparoscopic partial nephrectomy is safe and efficient. Application of barbed suture simplifies the parenchymal repair procedure and reduces warm ischemia time in comparison with conventional suture.
Keywords: Laparoscopy; barbed suture; partial nephrectomy; warm ischemia time.