[Telethermographic studies of the wound suture in animal experiments]

It is known from clinical practice that the healing of wounds is influenced by the type of wound suture applied. In general, the scar resulting from an intracutaneous suture looks better than that produced by an uninterrupted suture or by knotted suture. With respect to the appearance of the scar, the intracutaneous suture is normally superior to other wound sutures. As suggested by the results of our investigations, this may be due to an undisturbed microcirculation within the wound. Thermovision shows that a local temperature increase appears sooner in a wound closed by intracutaneous suture, whereas the temperature increases more slowly in case of uninterrupted or knotted suture. We suppose that the alterations of microcirculation in a wound closed by one of the latter types of wound suture can be considered as disturbance in blood circulation which may be followed by healing disturbances and proliferations of connective tissue.