SURGICAL SITE WOUND COMPLICATION

Abstract

Objectives: To compare the frequency of surgical site wound complicationrate between the skin closure with staples and polypropylene suture after elective hip surgery.Study Design: Prospective Randomized trial. Place and Duration of the Study: Orthopaedic& Traumatology Department Lady Reading Hospital from 13/03/2016 to 25/12/2017. Materialand Methods: All patients of either gender or age with intertrochanteric fractures fulfilling theinclusion criteria and fixed with dynamic hip screw (DHS) were randomly divided into two groups.Group A surgical site skin wounds were closed with metallic skin staples while Group B woundswere closed with polypropylene sutures. Wounds were examined for inflammation, necrosis,dehiscence, discharge and abscess on 3rd day, 2nd week, 4th, and 8th weeks in both groups andcompared. P value was considered significant if < 0.05. Results: Surgical site skin closure of100 patients were done with staples (group A, 50 patients) and interrupted polypropylene suture(group B, 50 patients). Baseline parameters of both groups had no significant differences. Meanage of group A and B patients were 61.6±SD 17.1 and 61.02±SD 19.2 respectively. Surgicalsite wound complications were reported in 9(18%) patients with staples closure and 8(16%)patients with suture closure (p > 0.05). Conclusion: We found no significance difference insurgical site complication rates of staples and suture closure in elective hip surgery patients.The operating surgeon can use closure material of his own choice.