Does the choice of suture material affect the incidence of wound infection? A comparison of dexon (polyglycolic acid) sutures with other commonly used sutures in an accident and emergency department.

One hundred and four patients with superficial lacerations were sutured with either Dexon (polyglycolic acid), silk, polyethylene or nylon sutures. The incidence of postoperative tissue reaction and wound infection was compared. There were few complications and these occurred with almost the same frequency in each suture group, although there were slightly more cases of infection in the patients who were sutured with silk. Dexon was seen to possess certain advantages in that it caused as little tissue reaction as the other sutures but did not have to be removed subsequently. This could clearly be of benefit to the patients and hospital staff alike.