Takumi Fukumoto¹, Masahiro Kido¹, Naoko Ikeo¹, Toshiji Mukai¹; ¹Kobe University

Surgical instruments used for tissue ligation or intestinal anastomosis are usually made of titanium. They remain in the body permanently and form metallic artifacts in computed tomography images, which impair accurate diagnosis. In addition, it may pose a potential risk of a bacterial infection. Although biodegradable magnesium instruments have been developed in other fields, the physical properties necessary for tissue ligation or intestinal anastomosis differ from those of other instruments. Besides suitable biodegradability, these require the sufficient ductility and mechanical strength for applying tissue ligation or intestinal anastomosis. We have developed a biodegradable magnesium-zinc-calcium alloy clip and stapler with good biological compatibility and enough clamping or stapling capability. In this presentation, we show the current development status of these instruments. We believe that our new surgical instrument be useful in the clinical setting in near future.