ABSTRACT
The use of adhesive preparations to reinforce surgical tapes and to secure dressings to the skin is standard practice. BioBrane is a biosynthetic membrane for use in dressing clean, well-debrided wounds, particularly partial-thickness burns and skin graft donor sites. The close and undisturbed contact of this material with the wound surface is important during the first 2 days after its application to achieve adherence. This has prompted a study to test the relative anchoring strength of four methods of securing the dressing to the normal skin around the wound: 1/2-inch (1.27-cm) Steri-Strips only; Mastisol, a mastic compound, with and without 1/2-inch Steri-Strips; and compound tincture of benzoin, USP, in combination with 1/2-inch Steri-Strips. The results obtained with a tension of 1.1 pounds/square inch (0.5 kg/6.5 cm2) were not conclusive as to the superiority of any one method. However, with a tension of 2.2 pounds/square inch (1 kg/6.5 cm2), the combination of mastic compound and 1/2-inch Steri-Strips provided the strongest adhesion. This type of application should also prove useful when other types of surgical dressings must be anchored in place.
Subject(s)
Adhesives , Biocompatible Materials , Coated Materials, Biocompatible , Occlusive Dressings , Dermatologic Agents , Humans , Mastic Resin , Plant Extracts , Resins, Plant , Styrax , Time FactorsABSTRACT
Surgical adhesive strips are often used for closure of some wounds or to minimize tension on sutures after closures. The package insert of the type most commonly used (Steri-Strip), indicates that the application of compound tincture of benzoin, U.S.P. (CTB) increases strip adhesion. The increase in adhesive power by CTB was compared with a preparation containing gum mastic (Mastisol). The study clearly demonstrated that the latter preparation provided a markedly more adhesive strength than that obtained with CTB.
