Absorbable or Non Absorbable Sutures in Hand Surgery

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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After all surgical procedures, the skin must be closed with some form of stitch, in healthcare called suture. According to the tradition of hand surgery, sutures that must be removed by caregivers, ie non-resorbable thread, have been used extensively, and the frequency of complications in the form of wound rupture and infection is low. For many procedures, however, it can be an advantage to avoid removing the stitches, as it is both painful for the patient and time-consuming and resource-consuming for both the patient and the healthcare system. You can then use a thread that the body itself breaks down and absorbs, ie resorbable suture. In the project, we will compare resorbable and non-resorbable suture with the primary outcome of superficial infection in the surgical area sometime day 1-20 after surgery. Secondary outcomes are the occurrence of wound rupture, pain VAS (Visual Analog Scale) when changing 2 weeks postoperatively, patient satisfaction VAS at 2 weeks and time spent in minutes for changing at 2 weeks postoperatively. The project will include all consecutive patients> 18 years of age who are operated on at the hand surgery clinic Södersjukhuset for elective or emergency surgery that do not meet the exclusion criteria. The project will include 270 patients.

Official Title
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Absorbable or Non Absorbable Sutures in Hand Surgery

Conditions
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Wound Complication Hand Surgery

Intervention / Treatment
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* Procedure: Skin closure


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: all consecutive patients> 18 years of age who are operated on at the hand surgery clinic Södersjukhuset for elective or emergency surgery that do not meet any of the exclusion criteria. Exclusion Criteria: -The researcher has an age <18 years. Patients with known healing problems in the past, for example patients with burns or during cortisone treatment. Patients undergoing surgery where skin grafting occurs. Patients with acute injuries that include a traumatic wound-ie what is usually referred to as open injuries -where the risk of infection is higher from the beginning.

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years
Maximum Age: 99 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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No

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Treatment
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Active Comparator: Non absorbable suture<br>Wound closure with non absorbale suture. Dimension and brand at the discretion of the surgeon. | Procedure: Skin closure<br>* Skin closure<br>|
| Experimental: Absorbable suture<br>Wound closure with absorbale suture. Dimension and brand at the discretion of the surgeon. | Procedure: Skin closure<br>* Skin closure<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Infection | Signs of superficial infection after surgery. Redness, pus, swelling. | 2 weeks | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Rupture | The prevalens of wound rupture after hand surgery | 2 weeks | 
| VAS | Visual analog scale | 2 weeks | 
| Time | Time consumption removal of sutures | 2 weeks |