B. Kim, J. Norman, M. Sgarioto, D. Hewitt R. Paver, P. Fernandez-PenasB. Kim, J. Norman, M. Sgarioto, D. HewittR. Paver, P. Fernandez-Penas
Introduction: The trauma inflicted on the skin and the
foreign bodies introduced from suture materials may alter
the process of wound healing. It is important to identify
measures to reduce the risk of surgical complications.
Method: A total of 212 patients were recruited from March
2011 to February 2014. Patients were assessed by two dermatologists.
Surgical site, closure type, defect size, scar
length, suture type and size were recorded. Patients were
followed-up at 6 weeks and 6 months for complications
including abscess formation, granuloma formation, scar
spreading, suture spitting and hypertrophic scar formation.
Results: The mean age of patients was 66 years.
Dermatologic surgery was performed most frequently on
the face (49.5%), followed by the trunk (31.8%).
Complications at six weeks were: scar spreading (5.6%),
suture spitting (10.8%), granuloma (8.5%), hypertrophic
scarring (2.4%), and abscess formation (4.7%). At six
months, complications included scar spreading (9.9%),
suture spitting (4.7%), hypertrophic scarring (1.4%).
Using bivariate analysis, the risk of granuloma formation
was greater with increasing defect size length, width, and
scar length (p < 0.05) at 6 weeks. The risk of suture spitting
was related to the operating surgeon (p < 0.05). We could
not find any factor related to scar spreading. On the other
hand, at 6 months, scar spreading, the only complication
that appeared in more than 5% of the patients, was most
likely to occur with the larger suture size (p < 0.05), correlated
with increased scar length (p < 0.05), more likely to
occur on the trunk (p < 0.05) and depended on the operating
surgeon (p < 0.01).