Interrupted versus continuous sutures in the posterior wall of bilioenteric anastomosis: A retrospective study

Document Type : Original Article

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Department of General Surgery, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt

Abstract

Background: Hepaticojejunostomy (HJ) anastomosis is a vital surgical procedure in gastrointestinal surgery that involves
the creation of a connection between the bile duct and the jejunum. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of
interrupted suturing, compared with continuous suturing of the posterior wall of the anastomosis, regarding primary and
secondary outcomes of HJ anastomosis.
Patients and Methods: Sixty patients were allocated to two groups, each group comprising 30 patients where in group A
(Interrupted Suture, n=30), 4/0 polydioxanone sutures were used. In group B (continuous Suture, n=30), 4/0 proline sutures
were used. In addition, in all cases interrupted sutures 4/0 polydioxanone were used in the anterior wall of anastomosis to
decrease postoperative stricture incidence, then all patients were followed up until the end of data analysis (6 months after
HJ anastomosis) using a standardized data collection sheet.
Results: The primary postoperative outcomes: Regarding the incidence of leakage, the continuous group (13.3%) had
a lower rate of postoperative biliary leak than the interrupted group (16.7%). Regarding the incidence of stricture of
anastomosis, two (6.7%) cases had strictures in the interrupted group, whereas there were four (13.8%) strictures in the
continuous group. This suggests that the interrupted group had a lower risk of postoperative strictures than the continuous
group. Regarding secondary outcomes, the mean number of sutures of the posterior wall was six in the interrupted group,
while it was two in the continuous group which means the continuous group was better than the interrupted group as
regards cost and time consumed during anastomosis.
Conclusion: Postoperative outcomes in HJ vary with interrupted and continuous suture techniques. The continuous
sutures revealed lower postoperative biliary leakage, and had better time and cost-effectiveness, while the interrupted
sutures had lower incidence of stricture formation.

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