Applying the Microvascular Anastomotic Coupler Device to End-to-side Venous Anastomosis in Reconstructive Surgery

BACKGROUND: Microsurgical vascular anastomosis plays an important role in successful free-tissue transfer. The Microvascular Anastomotic Coupler Device (MACD) aims to simplify anastomosis and decrease the time spent on this step, thereby reducing surgeon stress and improving the overall quality of the surgery, especially when venous end-to-side anastomosis is required. Our comparative retrospective cohort study aimed to determine the effect of this widely used device on anastomosis times and complications in head and neck/esophageal reconstruction cases involving venous end-to-side anastomosis using the internal jugular vein as the recipient vessel. METHODS: All consecutive patients who underwent head and neck/esophageal reconstruction with hand-sewn or MACD-mediated venous end-to-side anastomosis using the internal jugular vein by three experienced microsurgeons in our tertiary-care hospital in 2012–2020 were identified. Venous anastomosis times and venous trouble cases were recorded. RESULTS: Of the 191 cases, 44 and 147 underwent hand-sewn and MACD-mediated anastomosis respectively. The average venous anastomosis times of these groups were 31 and 11 minutes, respectively. Venous trouble was observed in two hand-sewn (4.5%) and four MACD (2.7%) cases, respectively. Vein twisting and improper coupler placement were the causes in the latter four cases. CONCLUSIONS: This study confirmed that MACD simplifies end-to-side venous anastomosis and reduces the time spent on this procedure. Also, for safer anastomosis, it is necessary to pay attention to preventing twisting and improper coupler placement when using MACD. We believe the MACD can improve the quality of reconstructive surgery.