Pain after episiotomy--a comparison of two methods of repair.

Episiotomy is a very common operation but little is known of its short-term or long-term morbidity.A prospective study was designed to record postpartum perineal discomfort and to investigate the presence and persistence of dyspareunia following episiotomy in 140 primigravidae. A comparison was made between those whose perineal skin was sutured with a subcuticular polyglycolic acid (;Dexon') stitch and those sutured with interrupted black silk stitches.Patients sutured with subcuticular ;Dexon' had significantly less perineal discomfort on the third, fourth, and fifth postpartum days. Patients who had epidural analgesia in labour had significantly more pain during the first five postpartum days irrespective of the suture material used.The timing of first coitus after delivery did not influence the presence or persistence of dyspareunia. Dyspareunia was commoner and lasted longer in patients sutured with ;Dexon' and it was also commoner in older primigravidae irrespective of the suture technique.