Absorbable sutures for cardiopulmonary bypass purse strings in pediatric heart surgery

Background Absorbable sutures, commonly used in general surgery, are not routinely used as purse strings for arterial and venous cannulation for cardiopulmonary bypass in pediatric heart surgery. The general concern is absorbable sutures could predispose to immediate postoperative bleeding; this safety concern has been evaluated in this retrospective study. Materials and Methods A single center, retrospective study, was conducted with criteria for inclusion patient <18 years of age, operation on with cardiopulmonary bypass for heart surgery from July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2020, with purse strings for cannulation performed with absorbable sutures. Data collection included demographics at the time of surgery, site of arterial and venous cannulation with absorbable purse strings, bleeding, required reoperation, related hospital mortality, and complications. Results One hundred and ninety-eight patients, mean +/- standard deviation (SD) age of 1597 +/- 3021 days, mean +/- SD body weight of 15.9 +/- 18.8 kg, were operated on using absorbable sutures for purse strings for arterial and venous cannulation: No bleeding was reported, either intraoperative or in the immediate postoperative period, related to the type of sutures used for purse strings for cannulation. No hospital deaths or complications related to the type of sutures were observed. Conclusions Based on the results of our analysis, we can conclude that the utilization of purse strings absorbable sutures for arterial and venous cannulation for cardio-pulmonary bypass in children is safe in relationship to the intraoperative and immediate postoperative period. No complications related to the use of absorbable sutures have been observed in a large pediatric patient population.

Automated summary

This retrospective study evaluates the safety of using absorbable sutures as purse strings for arterial and venous cannulation in pediatric heart surgery. The study concludes that the use of absorbable sutures is safe and does not result in bleeding, deaths, or complications in a large population of pediatric patients.