Intestinal Anastomosis During Enterostomy Takedown Using a 5 mm Miniature Endostapler Compared to Conventional Handsewn Technique

Enterostomy takedown is common in neonates with Hirschsprung’s disease, anorectal malformations, or necrotizing enterocolitis. Stapled bowel anastomosis has become routine in adults, but size of up to 12 mm diameter precludes performing enterostomy takedown in young infants using regular intestinal staplers. After the introduction of miniature (5 mm diameter) staplers, we increasingly used them for enterostomy takedown. This study compares enterostomy takedown using the miniature stapler (MS) to the conventional hand-sewn (HS) technique.