THE PURPOSE of this paper is to present an aid in the technique of intestinal anastomosis in infants and children.
In 19461 a new type of many-toothed clamp for use in vascular surgery was described. It has been demonstrated that this clamp, with tiny teeth in the apposing jaws, will not slip and will not injure the vessel wall. These clamps were originally devised, and are routinely being used, for division and suture of a patent ductus arteriosus. Since then, larger clamps embodying the same principle have been constructed for resection of coarctation of the aorta.2 Several different curved modifications of this clamp have been designed, and their use in portacaval anastomosis has been described.3
An opportunity for the use of these clamps in intestinal surgery first presented itself during an operation for Meckel's diverticulum in a 3-year-old child. The base of the diverticulum was divided between