Effect of intra-abdominal absorbable sutures on surgical site infection

Akihiro Watanabe, Shunji Kohnoe, Hideto Sonoda, Ken Shirabe, Kengo Fukuzawa, Soichiro Maekawa, Hiroyuki Matsuda, Masayuki Kitamura, Hiroshi Matsuura, Takeharu Yamanaka, Yoshihiro Kakeji, Shunichi Tsujitani, Yoshihiko Maehara

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

7 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Purpose: To establish whether the rates of surgical site infection (SSI) in gastrointestinal surgery are affected by the type of intra-abdominal suturing: sutureless, absorbable material (polyglactin: Vicryl), and silk. Methods: We conducted SSI surveillance prospectively at 25 hospitals. Results: The overall SSI rate was 14.4% (130/903). The SSI rates in the sutureless, Vicryl, and silk groups were 4.8, 14.8, and 16.4%, respectively, without significant differences among the groups. In colorectal surgery, the SSI rate in the Vicryl group was 13.9%, which was significantly lower than that of the silk group (22.4%; P = 0.034). The incidence of deeper SSIs in the Vicryl group, including deep incisional and organ/space SSIs, was significantly lower than that in the silk group (P = 0.04). The SSI rates did not differ among the suture types overall, in gastric surgery, or in appendectomy. Conclusion: Using intra-abdominal absorbable sutures instead of silk sutures may reduce the risk of SSI, but only in colorectal surgery.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)52-59
Number of pages8
JournalSurgery today
Volume42
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jan 2012

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Surgery

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