A new type of absorbable barbed suture for use in laparoscopic myomectomy.

Angioli, Roberto; Plotti, Francesco; Montera, Roberto; Damiani, Patrizio; Terranova, Corrado; Oronzi, Irma; Luvero, Daniela; Scaletta, Giuseppe; Muzii, Ludovico; Panici, Pierluigi B

OBJECTIVE To compare effectiveness, feasibility, and suturing time required between an absorbable barbed wire (V-Loc) uterine suture and a classic continuous suture with intracorporeal knots among women undergoing laparoscopic myomectomy. METHODS From January 2010 to February 2011, women with single symptomatic intramural myoma were prospectively enrolled in a single-center study at a university hospital in Rome, Italy. A control group with characteristics meeting the criteria for study inclusion was retrospectively identified from the hospital databases. In the prospective group uterine wall defects were closed with V-Loc suture, whereas in the control group they were closed by classical continuous suture with intracorporeal knots. Data were analyzed via Student t test, Mann-Whitney U test, and Fisher exact test. RESULTS The mean operative time was shorter in the V-Loc (51±18.1 min) than in the control (58±17.8 min) group. Suturing time was significantly lower in the V-Loc than in the control (9.9±4.3 versus 15.8±4.7 min; P=0.0004) group. Both intraoperative bleeding and drop in hemoglobin were significantly lower in the V-Loc group (P=0.0076 and P=0.0176, respectively). CONCLUSION Use of a barbed suture may aid surgeons during laparoscopic suturing by reducing operative time, suturing time, and blood loss.