Accuracy of suture techniques of surgeons with different surgical experience

The pinpoint accuracy in the suturing techniques of 35 surgeons was measured by the distance deviated from an expected needle exit. The grip of the needle holder used by the surgeons was their habitual one. Accuracy was tested using two ways of suturing; namely with, and without wavering a needle to aim at an exit after suturing began. Where the surgeons did not waver the needle, accuracy improved both when the surgical experience was greater than one year (p less than 0.05) and again when the experience exceeded 10-15 years (not significant). Difference of the accuracy between individual surgeons disappeared in those surgeons with 15 to 20 years experience. Where the surgeons wavered the needle, improvement was more marked in the former period and less in the latter. Wavering improved the accuracy in each group (p less than 0.01), but with the possible danger of injuring tissue. In conclusion, accuracy was not as precise as most surgeons' confidence believed. A significant improvement was observed with 1-year experience, but the improvement thereafter was poor. Fifteen to 20 years experience was not enough to acquire a suturing technique not necessitating needle wavering in the tissue, still yielding a 1.7 mm deviation in a 2 cm suture-stride. It was however enough to eliminate surgeons' individual differences in accuracy.