The use of Seamguard to buttress the suture repair of a staple line leak following laparoscopic gastric bypass for obesity.

Anastomotic and staple line leak following laparoscopic gastric bypass are recognised complications with significant mortality and morbidity. Several techniques have been described to reduce the incidence of staple line leaks, including reinforcement of staple lines using omental wraps, fibrin glue, and Peristrips and Seamguard. Using a similar principle, we describe a case report of the successful use of a Seamguard buttress in the repair of a staple line leak at the proximal gastric pouch following laparoscopic gastric bypass. The repair of the leak was confirmed by gastrogaffin contrast study as well as clinically as the patient progressed well in the postoperative period. Ten months following surgery, her weight had reduced from 125 kg (BMI 47.6 kg/m(2)) to 82.4 kg (BMI of 31.4 kg/m(2)). We suggest that surgeons facing similar problems may choose to employ this novel technique.