Towards cost saving in surgery without compromising safety: stapleless laparoscopic splenectomy in a developing country—a prospective cohort study

Abstract

Background Minimally invasive surgery has been steadily growing in popularity. Control of splenic hilar vessels is the most delicate step during laparoscopic splenectomy (LS). In the earlier eras of LS, hilar vessels were controlled using clips and/or ligation. Laparoscopic staples were later introduced and have arguably led to an increase in popularity of LS. They do not abolish potential complications of splenectomy and theoretically represent an added operative cost.In this study, we aimed to assess the safety and efficacy of stapleless LS (using knots, haemostatic devices and clips) compared with the now more conventional stapled LS.Methods A pilot randomised prospective study was conducted in a university hospital between September 2018 and April 2020. It included 40 patients randomly assigned to two equal groups: (1) 20 patients: stapleless LS and (2) 20 patients: LS using laparoscopic staples.We compared operative time, intra and postoperative complications and postoperative recovery.Results There was no statistically significant difference between both groups across all comparative outcomes.Conclusion Both techniques are comparable in terms of safety and operative time. In terms of cost efficiency, we recommend more comprehensive analyses of hospital costs.