A New Needle Holder Design to Facilitate Intracorporeal Knot Tying

Purpose. Intracorporeal knot tying in laparoscopic surgery continues to be a problem especially for beginners and inexperienced surgeons. A wide-angle needle holder was designed to make the knot maneuver easier while also ensuring that the knot does not come out of the needle holder. In this study, it was planned to compare the wide-angle needle holder with the classic needle holder in regard to knot tying time. Material and method. A total of 11 male volunteers were randomly selected from freshmen students of the faculty of medicine, who had no experience of surgery or laparoscopic surgery. After the required training and practice, candidates were asked to tie 3 knots each in the training box using a classic needle holder and a wide-angle needle holder. Their knot tying times were recorded. Results. Although the students had no experience, it was observed that they tied knots more easily and more comfortably using the wide-angle needle holder. It was found that the knot tying times with the wide-angle needle holder were quite short compared with the classic needle holder in all candidates. This difference was also statistically significant (P = .01). Conclusion. We believe and claim that the use of a wide-angle needle holder during knot tying in laparoscopic surgery can facilitate knot tying and shorten the duration of the knotting, especially for inexperienced surgeons.