Bidirectional-barbed sutured knotless running anastomosis v classic Van Velthoven suturing in a model system.

Background and Purpose: Robotic prostatectomy is exploding into popular utilization throughout much of the United States. It is expected that the rise in the number of these cases into 2006 will continue exponentially. A significant amount of research has begun to focus on the anastomosis, because the robot allows unprecedented illumination and dexterous control to make the quality of this repair equal to that of a microscopic approach. Here, we report our results with a circular anastomosis technique using an innovative bidirectional-barbed suture material for knotless, tension-free repair and compare it with a standard polyglecaprone single-knot technique. Materials and Methods: Using a previously described in-vitro model of microfiber synthetic material, a running anastomosis was performed using the da Vinci Surgical System® by one surgeon. Two pre-tied 3-0 polyglecaprone sutures on a tapered Rb-1 needle were compared with a bidirectional-barbed suture (3-0 PDO) designed specifically for our use (Quill...