Ethicon, part of the Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices Companies, has announced the results of a new real-world study that shows its Echelon Circular Powered Stapler was associated with a 74% reduction in anastomotic leak rates (1.8% vs. 6.9%)[1] and a 44% reduction in 30-day inpatient hospital readmission rates (6.1% vs.10.8%) after colorectal surgery compared with manual circular staplers.[2]
The study, published in Surgical Endoscopy, shows the groundbreaking device is just as effective in reducing life-threatening and costly surgical complications in real-world surgical practice as demonstrated in recent clinical studies, where the leak rate was 1.7% for the Echelon Circular and as high as 11.8% for manual staplers.[3]
For the real-world study, investigators drew from data in the Echelon Circular clinical trial (165 patients) and the Premier Healthcare database (1,348 manual circular patients) for a matching adjusted indirect comparison of patients who underwent left-sided colorectal resection.
“The data is very positive in terms of postoperative complications and intraoperative events and ease of use, specifically related to the deployment of the circular powered stapler,” said Ethicon consultant and study co-author Patricia Sylla, MD, a colorectal surgeon and associate professor of surgery at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. “While anastomotic leaks are a complex problem with various contributing factors, the results of this study highlight the important role that the surgical stapler can play to reduce the potential for complications in colorectal surgery.”
For more information, visit www.ethicon.com.
1. A retrospective matched analysis of 165 Echelon Circular cases from clinical study, and 1,348 manual circular stapler cases from Premier Healthcare Database [ECHELON CIRCULAR 1.8% (3/165) vs. manual circular 6.9% (93/1348), p<0.001]
2. A retrospective matched analysis of 165 Echelon Circular cases from clinical study, and 1,348 manual circular stapler cases from Premier Healthcare Database [ECHELON CIRCULAR 6.1% (10/165) vs. manual circular 10.8% (146/1348), p=0.019]
3. Pla‐Martí, V., Martín Arévalo, J., Moro‐Valdezate, D. et al. Impact of the novel powered circular stapler on risk of anastomotic leakage in colorectal anastomosis: a propensity score matched study. Tech Coloproctol (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10151-020-02338-y
