ABSTRACT
Introduction: The concept of using surface adhesive tapes to close surgical wounds antedates the development of satisfactory suturing techniques. But previously available wound adhesive tapes lacked adequate adhesive properties and led to the occurrence of associated skin irritation or maceration. Methods: A total of 30 patients who presented to Department of Surgery for elective and emergency surgical procedures were randomly selected, after getting informed consent. Wound adhesive tapes were used for skin closure. The patients were followed up in the immediate post-operative, 1 week, 4 weeks, and 3 months post-operative. Any complication such as wound gaping, wound infection, or skin irritation were noted. Cosmetic results were evaluated using modified Hollanders scale. Results: In our study, 90% of patients were male and rest were females. Wound infection occurred in 6.7% of the patients. This is increased compared to reports from older studies which is about 3-4% wound infection in sutured wounds is about 2-11% according to available literature. Wound infection rate in our study is within this rate and is comparable to that of suture closure. There was a significant association between the incidence of wound infection and presence of diabetes mellitus (DM). 2 out of 4 patients with Type 2 DM developed wound infection. There was no association between occurrence of wound infection and age of the patient or type of incision. The relative risk of sub-optimal closure in sutured wounds is 1-8%. In our study, the rate of suboptimal closure is 6.7% which falls within this range. There is a significant association between occurrence of wound infection and final cosmetic outcome. Conclusion: Wound adhesive tapes are effective alternatives for suture closure. Added advantages of reduced time consumption and cost of tapes compared to sutures were observed in our study.
ABSTRACT
Any method that deforms the skin of the extremities may increase lymphatic flow rate, and may be applied to treat peripheral lymphedema. This study was undertaken to investigate whether or not elastic adhesive tape with passive exercise can increase lymph flow in the rabbit hind leg by effective and periodic skin deformation. Cannulation into a pre-popliteal afferent lymphatic vessel in the lower left leg of 22 male New Zealand White rabbits was performed under a stereomicroscope. After stabilization, lymph was collected at rest or during passive exercise with an electric motor at 60 r.p.m. for 15 minutes and was then measured. Lymph flow rate was calculated and expressed as g/hour. Increase of lymph flow rate due to taping was significant only for passive exercise (p=0.0317). The lymph flow rate increased linearly as the area of tape was increased (p=0.0011), and lymph flow rates were significantly different according to site (p=0.0017). Tape on the anterior aspect of the ankle caused salient deformation and tended to increase the lymph flow rate more so than tape on the dorsum of the foot (p=0.0831). Taping with elastic adhesive tape in passive exercise increased the lymph flow rate in the rabbit hind leg by deforming the skin, which suggests a novel therapeutic method in cases of peripheral lymphedema.