Automated Suture Fastener Gaining Complete Commitment: Cumulative Propensity-Matched Comparison with Hand-Tied Knot in Heart Valve Surgery

Objective The COR-KNOT® device is an automated suture fastener in which there is currently no consensus on its role in heart valve surgery. Our aim was thus to conduct a one-to-one comparison of clinical outcomes with a hand-tied control cohort. Methods We performed a single-center, cumulative propensity-matched retrospective cohort study on patients undergoing heart valve surgery from 1 January 2015 to 13 February 2020. Propensity score matching was performed on 693 patients, dividing them into matched COR-KNOT® ( n = 124) and hand-tied ( n = 124) groups. Results Data on baseline demographics, operative details, and clinical outcomes were analyzed and compared between the groups. The patients in both the COR-KNOT® and control groups were well-matched. For the median sternotomy (MS) all procedures subgroup, use of COR-KNOT® was associated with a decrease of around 49 min in CPB time (220.00 [168.00 to 256.00] vs 70.50 [134.00 to 236.75] min, P = 0.006) and around 32 min in ACC time (145.00 [109.00 to 189.00] vs 112.50 [81.00 to 161.75] min, P = 0.008). In the MS valve and CABG subgroup, use of COR-KNOT® was associated with a 70 min reduction in overall operation time (401.00 [354.25 to 468.75] vs 330.50 [288.50 to 370.50] min, P = 0.013), 63 min reduction in CPB time (216.50 [191.75 to 283.25] vs 153.00 [124.75 to 207.50] min, P = 0.004) and 45 min reduction in ACC time (146.00 [134.50 to 205.50] vs 100.50 [71.50 to 150.75] min, P = 0.003). Conclusions In heart valve surgery, use of the automated suture fastener was associated with shorter CPB and ACC times. Additionally, we determined that clinical outcomes are most likely unaffected by the use of COR-KNOT®.