Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery (FLS) Practice Exam

Linear staplers are fairly bulky, and their shaft plus the cartridge housing need a passage large enough to pass through the trocar and allow deployment. A 12 mm port provides the necessary diameter to insert, orient, and fire the stapler without obstruction, which is why this size is generally required. Ports smaller than 12 mm typically cannot accommodate the instrument, while a 15 mm port is larger than what is usually needed for standard devices. In some cases, specialized or smaller-profile staplers exist, but the common setup uses a 12 mm port.