Surgical anastomosis

In surgical jargon, to create an anastomosis is to join together two hollow organs (viscus), usually to restore continuity after resection, or to bypass an unresectable disease process. Historically such procedures were performed with suture material, but increasingly mechanical staplers and biological glues are employed. While an anastomosis may be end-to-end, equally it could be performed side-to-side or end-to-side depending on the circumstances of the required reconstruction or bypass. The term reanastomosis is also used to describe a surgical reconnection usually reversing a prior surgery to disconnect an anatomical anastomosis, e.g. tubal reversal after tubal ligation.

Anastomosis are typically performed on:

Fashioning an anastomosis is typically a complex and time-consuming step in a surgical operation, but almost always crucial to the outcome of the procedure.

See also