Wound Closure Using Adhesive Tapes in SRM Medical College, Potheri: A Case Study.

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.