Studies Database

Korvick D, Kruszynski M, Rouse T. STARR Trainer, an alternative to live animal usage, for product development and surgeon training. Paper presented at: The Three Rs - Together it's possible. 8th World Congress on Alternatives and Animal Use in the Life Sciences; 2011 Aug 21-25; Montreal, Canada

Trans-Anal Rectal Resection (STARR) is a surgical treatment for obstructed defecation syndrome (ODS), a condition of chronic constipation associated with anatomical anomalies of the pelvic floor and rectum. Ethicon Endo-Surgery developed two staplers to enable surgeons to perform this STARR surgery. These staplers allow the surgeon to resect full thickness rectal wall via a minimally invasive trans-anal approach. The goal of this study was to develop a STARR trainer as an alternative to live animal usage for both product development and for use during surgeon training.
Ex vivo methodology was explored as a means to study staple line integrity and staple line burst pressure during product development. A stand was developed as a tool to suspend harvested porcine tissue, distal colon and rectum, in the correct orientation and tension to perform suture placement, device orientation and tissue resection.
The stand, STARR Trainer, allowed easy and consistent placement of the staple lines for staple line testing. It was easy to view traction suture placement, in folding of the tissue into the staple anvil and the final staple line. These features also made the stand a useful tool in training surgeons. Animal usage for training was reduced by 67% after implementing the STARR Trainer.
The STARR Trainer is an effective alternative to animal use for product development and surgeon training.
 

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