Barbed Versus Conventional Suture for Spinal Surgery: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Area of Science:

• Spinal Surgery
• Surgical Techniques
• Wound Closure

Background:

• Barbed sutures offer potential advantages over conventional sutures by eliminating the need for knots.
• This meta-analysis evaluates the clinical, surgical, and economic outcomes of barbed sutures versus standard closure in spinal surgery.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the clinical, surgical, and economic outcomes of barbed sutures with standard closure techniques in spinal surgery.

Main Methods:

• Systematic literature search of PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science.
• Inclusion of 6 studies with a total of 1235 patients undergoing spinal surgery.
• Meta-analysis of outcomes including infection, hospital stay, operative time, and costs.

Main Results:

• Barbed sutures were associated with significantly reduced operating room time (MD -15.37 min) and suturing time (MD -16.17 min).
• A significantly lower risk of total infection was observed with barbed sutures (RR 0.55).
• No significant differences were found in deep infection, hospital stay duration, postoperative hematoma, reintervention rates, superficial infection, total hospitalization cost, or wound dehiscence/seroma.

Conclusions:

• Barbed sutures demonstrate safety and potential efficacy in spinal surgery.
• Reduced operative time, suturing time, and infection rates are key benefits of using barbed sutures.
• Barbed sutures represent a viable alternative to conventional sutures for spinal wound closure.