Absorbable Powder Haemostat Use in Minimally Invasive Thoracic Surgery

<b>Background</b>: Significant intraoperative and postoperative blood loss are rare but possibly life-threatening complications after lung resection surgery either during open or minimally invasive procedures. Microporous Polysaccharide Haemospheres (ARISTA™AH) have demonstrated time-efficient haemostasis, lower postoperative blood volumes and a lower blood transfusion requirement, without any identified adverse events across other specialities. The primary aim of our study was to evaluate the impact of ARISTA™AH on short-term postoperative outcomes in thoracic surgery. Our secondary aim was to compare ARISTA™AH with other commonly used haemostatic agents. <b>Methods</b>: We retrospectively reviewed a prospectively collected database of consecutive early-stage lung cancer patients surgically treated in two European centres (October 2020-December 2022). Exclusion criteria included open surgery, patients with coagulopathy/anticoagulant medication, major intraoperative bleeding, non-anatomical lung resection and age <18 years. The cohort was divided into five groups according to the haemostatic agent that was used. Propensity score matching was used to estimate the effect of ARISTA™AH on various intra- and postoperative parameters (continuous and binary outcome modelling). <b>Results</b>: A total of 482 patients (M/F:223/259; VATS 97/RATS 385) with a mean age of 68.9 (±10.6) years were analysed. In 253 cases, ARISTA™AH was intraoperatively used to control bleeding. This cohort of patients had a significant reduction in total drain volume by 135 mls (standard error 53.9; <i>p</i> = 0.012). The use of ARISTA™AH did reduce the average length of a hospital stay (-1.47 days) and the duration of chest drainage (-0.596 days), albeit not significantly. In the ARISTA™AH group, we observed no postoperative bleeding, no blood transfusion requirement, no 30-day mortality and no requirement for redo surgery. The use of ARISTA™AH significantly reduced the odds of postoperative complications, as well as the need for transfusion and redo surgery. <b>Conclusions</b>: Our data showed that Microporous Polysaccharide Haemospheres are a safe and effective haemostatic device. Their use has a positive effect on the short-term postoperative outcomes of patients surgically treated for early-stage lung cancer.