Influence of subcuticular sutures on scar formation.

The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of nonabsorbable and absorbable subcuticular sutures on the width of scars of the human skin. This study included seventeen patients undergoing partial laminectomy for radiculopathy secondary to herniated nucleus pulposis. The scar of each patient served as its only control with its superior and inferior portions being subjected to different closure technics. The most important determinant of scar width was the patient himself. The width of the scar varied from an almost imperceptible scar in one patient to a very wide scar in another. An additional determinant of scar width was the location of the scar. The width of the inferior half of the scar was wider than the width of the superior half of the scar. Subcuticular closure of the laminectomy scar did not alter the magnitude of scar formation.