Comparative Study Between Subcuticular Suture and Skin Staples for Skin Closure in Elective Surgery in A Tertiary Care Hospital in Bangladesh
Abstract
Background: With the development of accelerated rehabilitation and the pressure placed on surgeons to reduce length of hospital stay, the method of skin closure has become increasingly important. The ideal surgical wound would be as strong as normal tissue; the moment it is closed. It is widely accepted that both sutures and staples can achieve the basic goals of wound closure. Both methods endeavor to re-approximate the skin by creating a watertight, tension-free, non-inverted opposition of the edges that promotes rapid healing and a cosmetically acceptable scar.
Objective: The aim of the study was to see the comparison between subcuticular suture and skin staples for skin closure in elective surgery.
Methods: This prospective type of comparative study was carried out at the department of Surgery, Mugda Medical College and Hospital, Bangladesh, from July 2019 to June 2020. A total of 380 patients were included in this study, divided in two groups based on the technique of wound closure: (i) subcuticular suture and (ii) skin staples group. Data was collected by face-to-face interview using a prepared structured questionnaires & checklist and analyzed on SPSS 22.
Results: Operation time in group I was less than operation time for the same aged group II at 73.55<80.26, which makes suture more efficient. Even the standard deviation error is more prominent in the staple group at 15.53 minutes compared to the suture group at13.65 minutes. The P value is significant at 5% significant level for the Suture group in case of operation time. Comparisons of independent post-operative parameters between two groups of study population. It was observed that majority patients in the poor alignment variable belonged to ‘No’ parameter. The poor alignment of scar variable is significant at 1% significant level. The suture group had lower people belonging in the poor alignment of scar than that of the staple group at 20%<41.58. It can be observed that group II has almost double the samples that have poor alignment of scar than that of the group I. Other post-operative observations, such as the presence of hypertrophic scar and keloid are not significant.
Conclusion: The study suggests that subcuticular suture is comparatively better than skin staples according to BNS score and prospective observation.
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References
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