Hand-sewn techniques for gastric anastomoses

Abstract

Single-layer interrupted anastomosis is preferred to two-layer techniques because it achieves more anatomical realignment of the layers of the bowel, less luminal reduction and less interference with blood supply. It also has the important advantage of simplicity. Single-layer anastomosis is applicable with minor variations throughout the gastrointestinal tract. The standard method described is based on a single layer of interrupted appositional serosubmucosal sutures which consistently achieves satisfactory results^1,2. Hand-sutured single layer anastomoses are preferred to stapled anastomoses because of their versatility, low complication rate and economy.