The first experience with dynamic magnetic retraction in laparoscopic colon resections: a prospective study of 12 hospital cases

Objective. To evaluate the clinical safety and efficacy of a new dynamic magnetic retraction system with electronic control of magnetic field strength and six-axis positioning to ensure adequate exposure of the surgical field in patients undergoing elective laparoscopic colon resections. Methods. A prospective descriptive study included patients aged 46 to 78 years with histologically verified cancer of the cecal, ascending, descending, or sigmoid colon, who were scheduled for elective laparoscopic surgery at a single surgical hospital. The intervention studied was the intraoperative use of a dynamic-controlled magnetic system. The primary endpoint was the incidence of intraoperative complications associated with the use of the magnetic device. Additional outcomes: duration of surgery, volume of blood loss, number of removed lymph nodes, frequency of R0 resection, frequency of postoperative complications, time of restoration of peristalsis, and duration of hospitalization. Results. The study included 12 patients (7 men, 5 women; median age 64 years). In all cases, the system provided adequate visualization of the surgical field without conversion to an open intervention or the installation of additional trochars. There were no intraoperative complications associated with the magnetic device (0%; 95% confidence interval 0–26.5). The median duration of surgery was 170 minutes, and the median blood loss was 50 ml. The median number of lymph nodes removed was 12 (range 8–18). R0 resection was achieved in all 12 patients. Peristaltic activity was restored on the second day, and the median hospital stay was 10 days. One case of postoperative wound seroma was recorded (8.3%; 1/12), and no deaths were reported. Conclusions. Dynamic magnetic retraction with smooth adjustment of force and traction vector is safe and provides adequate oncological results in laparoscopic colon resections. Due to the small sample size and the absence of a comparison group, it is currently not possible to assess the superiority of this method over standard approaches.