Closure of the abdominal wall; how and why? Clinical review.

Closure of the abdomen after surgery has been performed in a multitude of fashions and the literature is flooded with differently tailored studies of this matter. In this paper the available literature in the field has been reviewed with special emphasis on the advantages and disadvantages of continuous or interrupted, mass or layered closure, and on the choice of monofilament or multifilament, resorbable or non-resorbable suture material. After weighing up all the aspects, the authors recommend that the abdomen should be closed with a continuous mass closure technique, using a monofilament suture. No firm conclusion can be drawn from the literature as to whether resorbable or non-resorbable suture should be chosen.