Barbed Suture vs Traditional Suture in Single-Port Total Laparoscopic Hysterectomy

Study Objective: To compare surgical outcomes between barbed suture and traditional suture used in repair of the vaginal vault during single-port total laparoscopic hysterectomy (TLH). Design: Case-control study (Canadian Task Force classification II-2). Setting: Two institutions. Patients: One hundred two patients with benign uterine disease. Interventions: Single-port TLH using barbed suture (n = 43) or traditional suture (n = 59). Measurements and Main Results: Patient characteristics (age, body mass index, demographic data), procedures performed, uterine weight, and uterine disease were similar between the 2 study groups. There were also no differences in operative complications, conversion to other surgical approaches, operative blood loss, postoperative pain, and duration of hospital stay between the 2 groups. Use of barbed suture significantly reduced the time required for vaginal cuff suturing (11.4 vs 22.5 minutes; p < .001), as well as total operative time (92.0 vs 105.2 minutes; p = .002). Use of barbed suture is less technically demanding than traditional suture (p < .001). Conclusion: Use of barbed suture in single-port TLH may aid surgeons by reducing operative time, suturing time, and surgical difficulty. (C) 2014 AAGL. All rights reserved.