Tucker Stephen B, Ransdell Brian L
Department of Dermatology, University of Texas-Houston Medical School, and Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA.
Dermatol Surg. 2003 Jul;29(7):728-34. doi: 10.1046/j.1524-4725.2003.29186.x.
Postsurgical wound management is traditionally a choice between intraoperative surgical repair or healing by secondary intention. We describe a technique that combines intraoperative and postoperative surgical repair with granulation.
Delayed closure with repeated directional suturing was evaluated as an alternative closure technique for large wounds.
Sixty patients had surgical defects partially closed intraoperatively with postoperative staged closures over 2 to 4 weeks. Only those wounds that could not be closed intraoperatively without vascular compromise or anatomic disfigurement were treated.
All wounds were closed using skin from the same anatomic unit. Complications were minimal, and the results were acceptable to both the patients and the surgeon.
Delayed closure with repeated directional suturing is a reasonable alternative when primary closure is not possible or when it would cause anatomic disfigurement.
