A novel transanal tube designed to prevent anastomotic leakage after rectal cancer surgery: the WING DRAIN.

PURPOSE: We introduce a novel transanal tube (TAT), named the "WING DRAIN", designed to prevent anastomotic leakage after rectal cancer surgery, and report the fundamental experiments that led to its development.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed the basic experiments to evaluate the effect of TATs on intestinal decompression, the changes they make in patterns of watery fluid drainage, the changes in their decompression effect when the extension tube connecting the TAT to the collection bag fills with watery drainage fluid, and the variations in intestinal contact and crushing pressure made by some types of TAT.

RESULTS: Any type of TAT contributed to decompression in the intestinal tract. Watery drainage commenced from when the water level first rose to the hole in the tip of drain. The intestinal pressure increased with the length of the vertical twist in an extension tube. The crushing pressures of most types of TAT were high enough to cause injury to the intestine.

CONCLUSIONS: We resolved the problems using an existing TAT for the purpose of intestinal decompression and by creating the first specialized TAT designed to prevent anastomotic leakage after rectal cancer surgery in Japan.