What is a Ligating Clip?

Introduction to ligating clips

Ligating clip is used for ligation of vascular or other tubular structures in clinical laparoscopic surgery or surgical non-absorbable ligation clip. Ligating clip is a medical device that gradually replaces traditional metal titanium clips. It is mainly made of a high-polymer base material, added with nano short fibers. It is suitable for laparoscopic surgery or surgical non-absorbable ligation clip of blood vessels or other tubular structures. Disposable ligating clips and absorbable ligating clips are commonly used. Its biocompatibility is better than metal titanium clips. It can be used with special clip applicators to damage blood vessel tissue less. The convex design of the ligating clip can ensure that the clip will not fall off. The locking device of the ligating clip can completely grasp and ensure that it will not slip. The ligation range of the ligating clip is wide and can replace traditional suture ligation. During the operation, the ligating clip can achieve what the metal titanium clip cannot. The ligating clip is commonly used in surgical operations to ligate blood vessels and tubular organ tissues. It can also be used in endoscopic surgery, such as laparoscopic cholecystectomy and other modern surgical operations.

Classification of the surgical ligating clip

Currently, in minimally invasive surgery such as laparoscopy, the use of ligating clips for closure of vascular tissue is essential. Doctors are accustomed to categorizing them by material and use, including metal titanium ligating clips, non-absorbable ligating clips, and absorbable ligating clips.

The metal titanium ligating clip has many disadvantages due to its material characteristics after use. For example, during the operation, when using an electrocoagulator to coagulate, it is easy to conduct current and damage tissues. After the tissue edema caused by closure decreases, the ligating clip is easy to loosen, shift, and fall off prematurely, which fails to achieve the intended ligation and closure effect, causing bile leakage or bleeding and leading to intra-abdominal infections. It is also likely to produce interference in imaging examinations and cause potential dangers by permanent retention of foreign bodies in the body, and psychological effects on patients. Therefore, the use of metal titanium ligating clips is gradually being phased out of the market.

The non-absorbable ligating clip belongs to polymer material, which has similar inertness as metal; it does not support bacterial growth; it will not hide bacteria and cause infection, but it cannot be absorbed and degraded.

The absorbable ligating clip is mainly composed of inner and outer layers. The material used for the outer layer of the clip is polyglycolic acid, and the material used for the inner layer of the clip is polylactic acid carbonate. The product has better compatibility with skin or tissue and will not damage the tubular tissues or other intracavitary tissues of the body being clipped.