Swedish innovation could make it easier to close the abdominal wall after surgical incisions.
A new Swedish-developed technology could make it easier to close the abdominal wall after surgical incisions. Shorter closing time and small stitch quality are two advantages, according to inventor Gabriel Börner.
– Good suturing technique reduces the risk of later complications, not least an incisional hernia. Today, the surgeon closes the abdominal wall by hand with a traditional needle driver. The accuracy may not always be the best after a long abdominal operation. The idea with our technology is that the process should become more standardized and safer for the patient, he says.
The performance is supported by a study that he presents at this year’s digital Surgeon Week, where 15 surgeons were able to close surgical wounds on human specimens using both the new device and manual sewing techniques. The sewing machine completed the job faster and with a higher percentage of stitches that achieved the required quality criteria of the 4:1 ratio.
He is a surgeon at Helsingborgs hospital and got the idea for the machine when he met patients who suffered from abdominal wall post-op complications after surgery.
– The most important complication is incisional hernia, as the abdominal contents can push up into cavities in the scar. They can cause pain and in some cases be acutely life-threatening. Incisional hernias can occur in almost 20 % of patients after abdominal surgery, and every year around 2,500 hernia repair procedures are performed to correct the complication, says Gabriel Börner.
