Using a Modified Running Intracutaneous Butterfly Suture Technique for Wound Closure: Achieving Tension Reduction,...

Recently, patients have had increasingly higher requirements for the appearance of surgical scars. To achieve the ideal wound healing, a perfect suture technique needs to meet several requirements: tension reduction, precise apposition of wound edges, and dead space elimination. Here, we proposed a fast, efficient, and cost-effective suture method to meet clinical needs.

We performed a retrospective study to investigate the efficacy of the modified running intracutaneous butterfly suture technique for scar revision surgery.

Patients with scars and pathological scars who underwent scar revision using the proposed suture technique at our Hospital between January 2020 and January 2024 were included in this study. The modified running intracutaneous butterfly suture technique with fast-absorbing bidirectional barbed sutures was used for wound closure. The Vancouver Scar Scale was used to evaluate the appearance of scars before and 8-24 months after the operations. The recurrence and complications of the patients were also recorded.

A total of 59 patients were included. There were 3 (5.1%) recurrence and 6 (10.2%) hyperpigmentation following scar revision surgery combined with two sessions of radiotherapy. The overall Vancouver Scar Scale score significantly decreased from 10.19 ± 1.92 to 3.22 ± 1.45 within 8-24 months after the surgery. Patients were divided into the pathological scar group characterized with keloid and hypertrophic scar (n = 55) and the scar group (n = 4). The pathological scar group showed a decrease in Vancouver Scar Scale score from 10.51 ± 1.53 to 3.38 ± 1.36 (p < 0.0001).

We proposed a rapid and efficient suturing method that effectively reduced tension, eliminated dead space, and achieved optimal apposition of the wound edges, serving as a valuable reference for aesthetically pleasing wound suture.

This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .