The stretched scar: the benefit of prolonged dermal support.

A study of skin suture following elliptical excision of tattoos from the upper limb shows that when the dermis is supported by a subcuticular non-absorbable suture for 6 months there is (a) a highly significant and numerically considerable (37.5%) reduction of scar stretching over that following conventional interrupted skin suture and (b) a significant reduction of scar width (15.7%) when compared with the same material used as a subcuticular suture for 3 weeks. Subcuticular polyglycolic acid achieved no reduction in scar width at one year when compared with conventional interrupted sutures.