Evaluation: Ethicon Echelon Flex GST System Powered Endoscopic Linear Surgical Stapler
November 30, 2018 | Evaluations & Guidance
Preview
- The Echelon Flex GST System is intended to simultaneously staple and cut tissue for resection, transection, or creation of anastomoses via a battery-powered firing system during either open or minimally invasive procedures.
- Major device components:
- Echelon Flex Powered Plus Stapler—a 1.5 lb stapler handle and shaft with manual controls for rotation, articulation, jaw closing (compression) and opening, and safety lockout. It also includes battery-powered controls for knife advancement and knife retraction. The knife is integrated into the stapler itself.
- Echelon Endopath Reloads with GST—Ethicon stapler reloads feature Gripping Surface Technology (GST), which entails small bumps extending from the driver wells such that the cartridge face is not flat. These bumps are intended to engage patient tissue and minimize distal and lateral tissue movement during stapler compression and firing. Compression is achieved along the jaw of the stapler when the clinician clamps down on the tissue and waits 15 seconds, per the device instructions for use (IFU), for optimal tissue extrusion from the site. During firing with traditional stapler reloads, tissue can become further compressed and escape the cartridge—squeezing out the sides or beyond the tip of the reload—as the internal sled mechanism moves forward to form staples and transect the tissue. GST technology aims to hold this tissue in place and prevent movement from occurring, thus engaging more of the tissue to improve the integrity of the cut line. GST reloads are available in 45 and 60 mm lengths.
- Endoscopic linear surgical staplers are typically used for abdominal surgery, gastrointestinal surgery, general surgery, gynecological surgery, hepatic surgery, pediatric surgery, thoracic surgery, and urologic surgery. As such, the devices are used in...