Staplers in Gastro-Esophageal Cancer Surgery

As progress was made in laparoscopic instrumentation, the need to anastomose various gastrointestinal structures became evident. The answer to this problem was laparoscopic suturing and staplers. From the beginning of the practice of surgery, there has been concern about the amount of time required and the extent of tissue trauma associated with closure of the intestine and to perform gastrointestinal anastomoses with certain confi-dence. The primary goals were the restoration of function, to obtain effective hemostasis, the reduction of tissue trauma, and the prevention of postoperative morbidity, including infection and sepsis.