Copyright: ©Author(s) 2026. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. No commercial re-use. See permissions. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc.
World J Gastrointest Surg. Sep 27, 2026; 18(9): 120497
Published online Sep 27, 2026. doi: 10.4240/wjgs.120497
Published online Sep 27, 2026. doi: 10.4240/wjgs.120497
Hemopatch® as a sealant in anastomotic and suture leak prevention in abdominal emergency surgery: A single-center case series
Michela Zanatta, Marcello Donati, Department of Surgery and Medical-Surgical Specialties, University of Catania, Catania 95125, Italy
Co-corresponding authors: Michela Zanatta and Marcello Donati.
Author contributions: Zanatta M took care of the methodology, acquisition, analysis and interpretation of data, and drafted the work; Donati M substantively revised the paper, conceptualized and designed the work; Zanatta M and Donati M contributed equally to this manuscript and are co-corresponding authors.
AI contribution statement: ChatGPT (Open AI) was used solely as a language-editing tool to improve grammar, clarity and style of the manuscript. The scientific content, study design, date analysis, interpretation of the results, and conclusions were conceived, performed, and verified entirely by the authors. The text revised with the assistance of ChatGPT was carefully edited and validated by the authors to ensure its accuracy, consistency, and compliance with the intended scientific meaning. The authors take full responsibility for the final content of the manuscript.
Institutional review board statement: This study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. Ethical committee approval was not required because Hemopatch® is an approved medical device used within standard surgical practice and no experimental intervention was performed.
Informed consent statement: Written informed consent for treatment and data use was obtained from all patients prior to surgery.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Data sharing statement: There is no additional data to share.
Corresponding author: Michela Zanatta, MD, Department of Surgery and Medical-Surgical Specialties, University of Catania, Via Santa Sofia 78, Catania 95125, Italy.
Received: March 1, 2026
Revised: March 18, 2026
Accepted: July 28, 2026
Published online: September 27, 2026
Processing time: 198 Days and 13.9 Hours
Revised: March 18, 2026
Accepted: July 28, 2026
Published online: September 27, 2026
Processing time: 198 Days and 13.9 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Emergency abdominal surgery carries a high risk of anastomotic and suture failure, particularly in septic or malnourished patients. In this single-center case series of 36 emergency procedures, Hemopatch® was used as an adjunct sealant for anastomoses and sutures, with an overall leakage rate of 11.1% and no device-related complications. Although limited by the absence of a control group, these findings suggest that Hemopatch® may represent a useful reinforcement tool in selected high-risk emergency settings.