Preheating 2-Octyl Cyanoacrylate Reduces Curing Time in Robotic Total Knee Arthroplasty: A Pilot Randomized Study

Area of Science:

• Orthopedic Surgery
• Biomaterials Science

Background:

• Tissue adhesives like 2-octyl cyanoacrylate are crucial for wound closure in total knee arthroplasty (TKA).
• Prolonged drying times for these adhesives can increase surgical duration and reduce efficiency.
• Existing methods to shorten adhesive drying lack robust clinical or in vivo validation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the efficacy of preheated 2-octyl cyanoacrylate (Dermabond™) in reducing drying time during robotic-assisted TKA.
• To assess the impact of preheating on intraoperative efficiency and workflow in TKA procedures.

Main Methods:

• A randomized pilot study involving 40 patients undergoing TKA.
• Patients were divided into two groups: one receiving preheated Dermabond™ and a control group receiving ambient temperature Dermabond™.
• Key metrics including drying time, preparation time, and incision size were recorded and statistically compared.

Main Results:

• Analysis of 39 patients revealed an average reduction of 26.8 seconds in drying time for the preheated group (p < 0.05).
• One case in the preheated group experienced premature drying, leading to exclusion from analysis.
• No significant differences were found in preparation time or incision size between the preheated and control groups.

Conclusions:

• Preheating 2-octyl cyanoacrylate (Dermabond™) effectively reduces its drying time in robotic-assisted TKA.
• The observed reduction in drying time is not clinically significant enough to alter the current TKA workflow.
• Optimizing other procedural elements may offer greater improvements in intraoperative efficiency for TKA.