Adhesive bonds or percutaneous absorbable suture for closure of surgical wounds in children. Results of a prospective randomized trial

• Published in: Journal of pediatric surgery Vol. 39; no. 8; pp. 1249 - 1251
• Main Authors: van den Ende, E.D., Vriens, P.W.H.E., Allema, J.H., Breslau, P.J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.08.2004
• Subjects: Absorbable Implants; Child, Preschool; Cyanoacrylate tissue adhesive; Enbucrilate - therapeutic use; Esthetics; Female; Granuloma - epidemiology; Granuloma - etiology; Hematoma - epidemiology; Hematoma - etiology; hernia inguinalis; Hernia, Inguinal - surgery; Humans; Incidence; intracutaneous suturing; Male; Patient Acceptance of Health Care; Polyglactin 910; Prospective Studies; Surgical Wound Dehiscence - epidemiology; Surgical Wound Infection - epidemiology; Sutures; Tissue Adhesives - therapeutic use; wound dehiscence; Wound Healing; hernia inguinalis; wound dehiscence; Cyanoacrylate tissue adhesive; intracutaneous suturing
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2004.04.013
• ISSN: 0022-3468

Surgeons have become increasingly interested in replacing conventional sutures by means of adhesive bonds for the closure of skin wounds. There are several advantages to the use of adhesive bonds compared with the conventional sutures. Between January and August 2001, all the wounds in children after groin surgery were closed with an adhesive, N-butylcyanoacrylate (Indermil, Locite Corp, ’s-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands), or with a suture, polyglactin 5-0 (Vicryl), intracutaneously. Fifty Inguinal wounds were treated with Indermil and 50 with Vicryl. Wounds were evaluated for hematoma, infection, dehiscence, or formation of granuloma. A scale from 1 to 10 expressed the cosmesis by patient and surgeon. The most remarkable difference in wound healing was dehiscence of the wound in 26% of cases in the adhesive group and no dehiscence in the suture group. The cosmesis of the wounds was marked with an 8.6 in the suture group and in the adhesive group with a 6.8. Wound dehiscence was seen significantly more frequent in the patients in whom the wound was closed with N-butylcyanoacrylate. The cosmesis of wounds closed with tissue glue was significantly lower then the cosmesis after suturing. Therefore, the authors advise, on the basis of this prospective randomized trial, that surgical wounds in children should be closed with a intracutaneous absorbable suture.