The use of absorbable staples for skin closure after tibial plateau leveling osteotomy

To compare the use of stainless steel staples with absorbable staples for closure of skin incisions in dogs undergoing tibial plateau leveling osteotomy (TPLO).

Prospective study.

Client-owned dogs (n = 80).

With client consent, dogs were randomly assigned a staple type (stainless steel or absorbable) immediately prior to closure of a TPLO skin incision. Incisions were compared for length, staple type and number, and an inflammation-infection score 2 weeks after surgery.

Overall, 18.8% of incisions were diagnosed with inflammation or infection. No difference was found between inflammation-infection scores, incision length, number of staples used, or general anesthetic time between the 2 staple groups. However, wound closure was faster with stainless steel staples (22.50 seconds; range, 11-180) by approximately 30 seconds compared with absorbable staples (56.50 seconds; range, 18-190; P < .001). Time taken to close the incision correlated negatively with the number of occasions that absorbable staples were used (P = .01).

Absorbable skin staples were successfully used to close skin incisions after TPLO and were not associated with an increased level of inflammation or infection in our clinical setting.

Absorbable staples may be considered to close surgical wounds when subsequent suture removal would be impractical, without specific concerns over inflammation or infection of the wound.