A comparison of polyglycolic acid (Dexon), nylon and silk sutures in skin surgery.

Synthetic polyglycolic acid (Dexon) sutures were compared with silk or nylon in 50 patients requiring skin surgery. After some practice, polyglycolic acid is an easily handled as nylon or silk. Skin reactions occurred in 50% of the patients sutured with nylon, in 10% of those sutured with polyglycolic acid, and in none sutured with silk. Wound healing was satisfactory in all cases.