Use of skin staplers in head and neck surgery: prospective clinical study.
OBJECTIVE
To compare the advantages and disadvantages of skin staplers versus conventional sutures in head and neck surgery.


METHODS
Fifty consecutive patients who underwent extensive surgery in the head and neck area were included in this prospective trial.


METHODS
Patients were randomized into two equal groups: one group had their wounds closed with staplers and the other with monofilament sutures. The main outcome measures were speed of suturing, wound healing and cosmetic result, complications, and cost of either method.


RESULTS
Cosmetic results were good in both groups. Neither group had any complications. Wound closure speed was 18.9 +/- 1.4 cm/min when using skin staplers and 1.9 +/- 0.4 cm/min for conventional suturing (p < .001).


CONCLUSIONS
Skin staplers significantly reduce wound closure time and yield similar cosmetic results with no complications and with only a slightly higher cost of suturing material.
Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospital Sestre Milosrdnice, Zagreb, Croatia.
Marko
M
Grgić
Mirko
M
Ivkić
D004954:Esthetics; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D011446:Prospective Studies; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013528:Surgical Staplers; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014945:Wound Healing