Importance of absorbable surgical sutures for the prevention of stitch abscess after surgery in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma.

N Yamamoto,Y Morimoto,K Kito,K Kawano,A Abe,Y Takahashi,K Kawamura,N Wakasugi-Sato,T Kono,M Oda,T Joujima,S Nishimura,T Tanaka

doi:10.4317/medoral.21445

N Yamamoto, Y Morimoto + Show 11 more

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https://doi.org/10.4317/medoral.21445

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Abstract

BackgroundTo elucidate the significance of absorbable surgical sutures in the occurrence of stitch abscess after surgery in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC).Material and MethodsThe subjects were 251 patients who underwent excision and/or reconstruction and/or neck dissection for oral SCC using absorbable surgical sutures. Detection rates and characteristics of patients with stitch abscess were retrospectively evaluated by comparing between our present and previous data.ResultsThere was only one stitch abscess among the 251 patients. A significant difference in the incidence of stitch abscess was found between the present data and our previous data. Of course, no significant correlations were found between the occurrence of stitch abscess using absorbable surgical sutures and the various factors seen in our previous analysis.ConclusionsA complete switch of surgical sutures from silk to absorbable surgical sutures is needed for surgery in patients with oral SCC. Key words:Stitch abscess, oral cancer, occurrence, absorbable surgical sutures, silk suture.

Highlights

Stitch abscesses, which are abscesses that occur due to suture infections, are noteworthy complications after surgical procedures (1-5)
Based on the present evidence and the previous reports, we propose that oral and maxillofacial surgeons worldwide should immediately stop using silk sutures for high ligation of blood vessels in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) to prevent complications such as stitch abscesses (1,2,7-11)
The other important result in the present study was that the stitch abscess based on pathological findings occurred in only one (0.4%) of the 251 oral SCC patients when absorbable surgical sutures were used for high ligation of the blood vessels

Summary

Introduction

Stitch abscesses, which are abscesses that occur due to suture infections, are noteworthy complications after surgical procedures (1-5). We demonstrated that the risk of stitch abscess in patients with oral cancers was related to age, liver dysfunction, and/or the presence of allergies (5). Based on the previous reports on the comparison between polyglycolic acid and silk, the use of silk sutures in surgical procedures is decreasing to prevent stitch abscesses in accidental wounds, rupture of the Achilles tendon, abdominal incisions, and hepatectomy (1-3,7,8). We examined whether the use of absorbable sutures in surgery for patients with oral SCC reduces the risk of stitch abscess. Detection rates and characteristics of stitch abscess in patients who underwent excision and/or reconstruction and/or neck dissection for oral SCC using absorbable surgical sutures for high ligation of the blood vessels were investigated.

Material and Methods

Findings

Discussion