Abstract
Introduction: Maintaining blood flow at the incision site following dermal suturing is one of the most important factors affecting postoperative wound healing outcomes. However, this issue has not yet been sufficiently investigated. We aimed to evaluate and compare blood flow following wound closure with a combination of two suturing techniques/materials in pigs using laser speckle contrast imaging.
Materials and methods: Pigs (n = 4) were anesthetized, and three incisions were made in the upper and lower abdomen each (n = 6 incisions per pig). The incisions were closed using set-back continuous suturing with monofilament sutures (incision 1), set-back interrupted suturing with monofilament sutures (incision 2), and set-back continuous suturing with barbed sutures (incision 3) (n = 8 for each incision). Closure time was measured and blood flow was assessed for 20 min after closure of incision 3 using laser speckle contrast imaging.
Results: The mean time required to close incision 3 (4.36 ± 0.48 min) was significantly shorter than that required for incision 2 (5.45 ± 0.67 min) (p = 0.019). Statistical analysis of changes in blood flow from baseline to the three corrected time points (10, 15, and 20) after incision closure showed that the reduction in blood flow tended to be smaller at incision 3 than at incision 2 (p = 0.579).
Conclusions: The closure time was significantly shorter and blood flow impairment was comparable following set-back continuous dermal suturing with barbed sutures and set-back interrupted suturing with monofilament sutures.
(a) Schematic drawing of incision sites. Each pig received three incisions (incisions 1–3) on the upper and lower abdomen each (six incisions in total). (b) Incisions were made at the midline (incision 1), and to the right (incision 2), and left (incision 3) in this order for all animals. (c) Representative image of blood flow measurement using laser speckle contrast imager.
