Almost 18 million people fall victim to cardiovascular diseases (CVD) each year, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), thus becoming the diseases with the highest mortality rate. Among CVDs, coronary artery disease and stroke are among the deadliest, with the former killing around 7.4 million and the latter about 6.7 million annually. A lot of these diseases require surgery, and with the increase in the prevalence of CVDs, the number of surgeries being performed around the world is also rising. Sutures, which consist of a needle and thread, are the most common instruments used to close the incisions.
But, with the increasing focus on the post-operative phase, the surgical staplers market is growing. Just like staplers are used to hold together pieces of paper, surgical staplers are used to hold together the edges of wounds and incised tissues, to promote healing. Compared to sutures, staplers are considered more efficient at the wound healing process. Additionally, they also lead to less post-operative inflammation (swelling) and pain, which is desirable among patients. Another reason staplers are replacing sutures is that they are easier to extract after serving their purpose.
Such medical devices are either reusable or disposable, of which the disposable variants remain more popular among healthcare professionals. This is because of the strict regulations imposed by government organizations regarding the spread of hospital-acquired infections and the ethical obligation of the medical community in this regard. Though the reusable staplers can be sterilized before each surgery, it is considered better to dispose of the used ones and pick up a fresh one before each surgical procedure.
In addition to necessary surgeries, the volume of elective procedures, mostly for aesthetic and cosmetic purposes, is also rising. With the surging exposure of the digital world — social media, magazines, and TV — people around the world have become more conscious of their appearance. This is why not only are people going for surgeries with the primary purpose to enhance their appearance, but also opting for the minimally invasive approach to life-saving surgeries. Minimally invasive procedures involve operating in a way which leads to minimal cuts and scarring on the body. As staplers are better in this area than sutures, the use of the former is rising.
Yet another reason behind the increasing demand for elective surgeries is that people can either afford it in their own country, as a result of their higher disposable income than before, or that they are less expensive in developing countries. The latter factor, in particular, has given rise to the medical tourism sector, with people from the developed nations traveling to developing ones, including Thailand, India, Brazil, Malaysia, Mexico, Turkey, Taiwan, Costa Rica, South Korea, and Singapore, for low-cost medical services. Therefore, a rise in the number of surgeries automatically means an increase in the usage of staplers.
Across the globe, North America accounts for the highest adoption of staplers in surgery, as its geriatric population is quite high. With age, people lose their immunity and physical strength, which is why they get sick or hurt themselves quite often. Such people also have less platelets and subcutaneous tissue, which is why even a small cut can take longer to heal, thus requiring medical intervention in the form of staplers and sutures. Because of the same reason, of the increasing population of the elderly, Asia-Pacific (APAC) would observe the fastest surgical staplers market growth in the coming years.
Therefore, as the healthcare fraternity takes steps to provide better post-operative care after surgeries, the number of which is rapidly escalating, the demand for surgical staplers would go up further.