Friday, May 31, 2013

What Are Surgical Staples and How Are They Used?


There are several different ways of accomplishing wound closure. Adhesives, skin closure tapes, staples and sutures (for example, Covidien or Ethicon sutures) are all ways of repairing lacerations and surgical incisions. Surgical staples and clips are a faster way to close skin wounds, and are more consistent and accurate than hand suturing.

Originally, the first surgical staples were composed of stainless steel. Staple cartridges were reloadable with titanium staples. Today, surgical staplers (like Autosuture or Ethicon staplers) can be made of disposable plastic, or are made of stainless steel and are reusable. The surgical staples are made of either titanium or stainless steel and generally came in disposable cartridges.

As with any wound closure product, sometimes staples produce an inflammatory tissue reaction or an allergic reaction.

Titanium produces less of a reaction than stainless steel. However, patients with nickel allergies should consult with their physicians, as titanium staples contain a certain amount of nickel and could produce a reaction.

Bioabsorbable, synthetic staples based on polyglycolic acid are also on the market. Similar to synthetic absorbable sutures like Vicryl, an Ethicon suture, it is hoped these will cause less tissue reaction. They are also used where permanent staples would not be desirable, for instance, cystotomy repair.

Internal and external wounds can be closed using staples. Normally, a disposable stapler is used to apply skin staples and is removed with a staple remover. Depending on the tissue and the anatomical location to be stapled, the staple line may be straight, circular, or curved. Surgeons prefer using staples in bowel and lung surgery as they are less likely to leak air, blood, or bowel contents. Intestinal staplers are advantageous because they compress wound edges, closing off blood vessels during the stapling process.

Removing staples is done with a staple remover and is a simple procedure. The physician cleans the area, and gently removes each staple by applying pressure to the staple remover so that it bends the staple, straightening out the ends and backing them out of the skin. A tugging or pinching sensation is normally felt but the process is relatively painless.

1 comment:

  1. Skin stapler are widely used now-a-days because these staplers are faster way to close skin wounds and are accurate than hand suturing.

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