Enteric anastomosis and Tachosil®].

Anastomotic leakage is a common complication of colorectal surgery. To date, no clinical study exists showing a significant effect in reducing its frequency by sealing the anastomosis with a fibrin glue-coated collagen patch; the aim of this study was to demonstrate the efficacy of Tachosil. Methoda. We considered patients undergoing open resective colorectal surgery. In selected cases, Tachosil patches were wrapped around the anastomotic line. The onset of anastomotic leak was either defined clinically and investigated by contrast enema and CT scan. Results. From January 2010 to February 2011, 63 patients underwent colorectal surgery at our Institute. We recorded six major surgical complications; all complicated cases were in the no-Tachosil group. A shorter mean post-operative stay of 7.2 days was observed for patients where Tachosil was applied compared to 9.3 days for patients of no-Tachosil group. These difference was mainly related to anastomotic insufficiences recorded in the no-Tachosil group. Fibrin-coated collagen glue is used in different fields of surgery to improve hemostasis and anastomotic healing. Our experience confirmed its safety with a reduced incidence of anastomotic leak. These experience is based on few, non-randomized cases and therefore cannot demonstrate a real efficacy of Tachosil in anastomotic leak prevention.