Virginia Via Research Day Book 2026

Medical Student Research Clinical

07 COMPARATIVE POSTOPERATIVE OUTCOMES OF STAPLED VERSUS HAND-SEWN BOWEL ANASTOMOSES

Janet Chukwu, OMS-III; Gary Lahti, DO Corresponding author: jechukwu@liberty.edu

Sentara Halifax General Surgery Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine, Lynchburg, Virginia

advantages. wel resection, with postoperative outcomes strongly influencing morbidity and healthcare costs. Although both stapled and hand sewn techniques are widely used, existing studies show minimal statistically significant differences, leaving technique selection largely up to the surgeon's preference. While outcomes such as leak rates, operative time, minor complications, postoperative ileus, and financial considerations have been reported, the available evidence evaluates these outcomes separately rather than within a unified comparison. Consolidating these findings may better inform technique selection.

Context: Colorectal anastomosis is a critical part of bowel resection, with postoperative outcomes strongly influencing morbidity and healthcare costs. Although both stapled and hand-sewn techniques are widely used, existing studies show minimal statistically significant differences, leaving technique selection largely up to the surgeon's preference. While outcomes such as leak rates, operative time, mi-nor complications, postoperative ileus, and financial considerations have been reported, the available evidence evaluates these outcomes separately rather than within a unified comparison. Consolidating these findings may better inform technique selection. Objective/Hypothesis: To compare postoperative outcomes, including anastomotic leak rate, stricture formation, operative time, postoperative ileus, minor complications, and financial burden between sta pled and hand-sewn bowel anastomoses. Methods: A structured literature review was conducted using PubMed, Cochrane Library, and major

surgical journals. Search terms included "Stapled anastomosis", "hand-sewn anastomosis", "postopera-tive outcomes", and "cost". Included articles were studies done between 2010-2025. The variables in-cluded leak rate, strictures, Clavien-Dindo complications, operative time, postoperative ileus, recovery time, and financial data. Data extraction is still ongoing. Results: This study is still in progress, and results are not complete. Early review of studies suggests that stapled and hand-sewn anastomoses have comparable postoperative results for major outcomes, with some variations reported in operative efficiency, bowel recovery, and cost. Full data synthesis is ongo-ing. Conclusion: This review aims to determine whether meaningful differences exist between stapled and hand-sewn anastomoses across clinically relevant postoperative outcomes. Synthesizing these out-comes may help guide surgeons toward more evidence based technique selection. Final conclusions will clarify whether one method demonstrates consistent

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178 Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM)