What Is the Role of Barbed Suture in Laparoscopic Myomectomy? A Meta-Analysis and Pregnancy Outcome Evaluation

Background: This work analyzes the feasibility and effectiveness of barbed suture during laparoscopic myomectomy. Methods: Eight works have been carefully examined for the meta-analysis from all papers published online until November 2017. Results: Barbed suture proved to be superior to traditional suture technique in blood loss in laparoscopic myomectomy (Standardized Mean Difference [SMD] –0.650, 95% CI –1.420 to –0.119, p = 0.098, test for heterogenity p < 0.0001, I² = 95.54%), Hb drop (SMD –1.452, 95% CI –3.590 to 0.687, p = 0.183, test for heterogenity p < 0.0001, I² = 99.08%), suturing difficulty (SMD –0.638, 95% CI –0.935 to –0.342, p ≤ 0.001, test for heterogenity p = 0.25, I² = 27.84%), suturing time (SMD –1.197, 95% CI –1.848 to –0.549, p ≤0.001, test for heterogenity p = 0.0001, I² = 83.30%) and total operative time (SMD –0.687, 95% CI –0.804 to –0.569, p ≤ 0.001, test for heterogenity p = 0.292, I² = 17.44%). Barbed suture demonstrated to be better in comparison with the control group even with regard to the length of hospitalization (SMD –0.278, 95% CI –0.543 to 0.012, p = 0.040, test for heterogenity p = 0.025, I² = 61.85%), and to perioperative complications (SMD 0.708, 95% CI 0.503–0.996, p = 0.048, test for heterogenity p = 0.79, I² = 0%). Conclusion: Barbed suture significantly facilitates laparoscopic myomectomy by reducing the total operative/suturing time, estimated blood loss/Hb drop, and reduction of perioperative complications.