Evaluation of Banana Leaves (Musa paradisiaca) as an Alternative Wound Dressing Material Compared to Conventional Petroleum Jelly Gauze Dressing in Contused, Lacerated and Sutured Wounds Over the Head, Neck and Face Region.

Aim To evaluate the effectiveness of banana leaf dressing in patients with contused, lacerated and sutured wounds over the head, neck and face region with respect to pain during dressing change, patient comfort, status of wound bed during dressing change and handling characteristics in comparison with petroleum jelly gauze dressing. Methods and materials Sixty patients were included, out of which 30 patients were used as controls with petroleum jelly gauze dressings and 30 patients as study participants with banana leaf dressings. Pain on dressing change, handling characteristics of dressing material, patient comfort and status of wound bed on every dressing change were assessed. Results Properties of both banana leaves and petroleum jelly gauze dressings were parallel in all aspects, except pain on dressing change which was less with banana leaf dressings and had statistically significant value (p>0.001). Conclusions Banana leaves () can become an alternative choice of wound dressing material in contused, lacerated and sutured wounds over the head, neck and face region as they proved to cause less pain and trauma during dressing change and have other advantages such as cost and availability, comfort and ease of handling the dressing by health professionals.