{"title":"Ergonomic mismatch in circular staplers: powered staplers are associated with reduced sex-related disparities.","authors":"Emiko Kono, Sachiyo Nomura, Takashi Sakamoto, Kae Okoshi, Rie Matsunaga, Norihito Wada, Minako Kobayashi, Chie Takasu, Kengo Hayashi, Mayu Sakata, Chie Tanaka, Sang-Woong Lee, Ken Shirabe","doi":"10.1080/13645706.2026.2734219","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Manual circular staplers have been recognized as difficult to operate, particularly for female surgeons. Recently, powered circular staplers have been developed to address these limitations. This study aimed to describe surgeons' satisfaction and perceived challenges with manual and powered staplers and evaluate sex-related differences in operability.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A web-based survey was conducted among 18,261 members of the Japanese Society of Gastroenterological Surgery. The questionnaire collected demographic data, including sex, years since medical registration, and surgical glove size. It also assessed perceptions of manual and powered circular staplers, including stress or anxiety during use, situations associated with operational difficulty, overall satisfaction, and desired improvements.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 1,007 responses were obtained (859 men, 144 women, and four other/no response), yielding a response rate of 5.5%. Female surgeons had smaller glove sizes and fewer years of experience than male surgeons. With manual staplers, female surgeons reported higher levels of stress and anxiety during firing and lower overall satisfaction. The main issues identified were firing, handle size, and device weight. In contrast, powered staplers mitigated many of these challenges, improved satisfaction in both groups, and reduced sex-related differences in stressful situations during stapler operation.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Powered circular staplers were associated with higher satisfaction than manual staplers among both male and female surgeons and may help reduce sex-related differences in operability. However, statistically significant sex-related differences persisted for some outcomes, and issues related to device weight remain, highlighting the need for further ergonomic improvements.</p>","PeriodicalId":18537,"journal":{"name":"Minimally Invasive Therapy & Allied Technologies","volume":" ","pages":"1-9"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8000,"publicationDate":"2026-09-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Minimally Invasive Therapy & Allied Technologies","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13645706.2026.2734219","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"SURGERY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: Manual circular staplers have been recognized as difficult to operate, particularly for female surgeons. Recently, powered circular staplers have been developed to address these limitations. This study aimed to describe surgeons' satisfaction and perceived challenges with manual and powered staplers and evaluate sex-related differences in operability.
Methods: A web-based survey was conducted among 18,261 members of the Japanese Society of Gastroenterological Surgery. The questionnaire collected demographic data, including sex, years since medical registration, and surgical glove size. It also assessed perceptions of manual and powered circular staplers, including stress or anxiety during use, situations associated with operational difficulty, overall satisfaction, and desired improvements.
Results: A total of 1,007 responses were obtained (859 men, 144 women, and four other/no response), yielding a response rate of 5.5%. Female surgeons had smaller glove sizes and fewer years of experience than male surgeons. With manual staplers, female surgeons reported higher levels of stress and anxiety during firing and lower overall satisfaction. The main issues identified were firing, handle size, and device weight. In contrast, powered staplers mitigated many of these challenges, improved satisfaction in both groups, and reduced sex-related differences in stressful situations during stapler operation.
Conclusions: Powered circular staplers were associated with higher satisfaction than manual staplers among both male and female surgeons and may help reduce sex-related differences in operability. However, statistically significant sex-related differences persisted for some outcomes, and issues related to device weight remain, highlighting the need for further ergonomic improvements.
期刊介绍：
Minimally Invasive Therapy and Allied Technologies (MITAT) is an international forum for endoscopic surgeons, interventional radiologists and industrial instrument manufacturers. It is the official journal of the Society for Medical Innovation and Technology (SMIT) whose membership includes representatives from a broad spectrum of medical specialities, instrument manufacturing and research. The journal brings the latest developments and innovations in minimally invasive therapy to its readers. What makes Minimally Invasive Therapy and Allied Technologies unique is that we publish one or two special issues each year, which are devoted to a specific theme. Key topics covered by the journal include: interventional radiology, endoscopic surgery, imaging technology, manipulators and robotics for surgery and education and training for MIS.
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