Cutaneous wound closure materials: an overview and update.
BACKGROUND
On a daily basis, dermasurgeons are faced with different kinds of wounds that have to be closed. With a plethora of skin closure materials currently available, choosing a solution that combines excellent and rapid cosmetic results with practicality and cost-effectiveness can be difficult, if not tricky.


OBJECTIVE
We aimed to review the available skin closure materials over the past 20 years and the scientific claims behind their effectiveness in repairing various kinds of wounds.


METHODS
The two authors independently searched and scrutinised the literature. The search was performed electronically using Pub Med, the Cochrane Database, Google Scholar and Ovid as search engines to find articles concerning skin closure materials written since 1990.


CONCLUSIONS
Many factors are involved in the choice of skin closure material, including the type and place of the wound, available materials, physician expertise and preferences, and patient age and health. Evidence-based main uses of different skin closure materials are provided to help surgeons choose the appropriate material for different wounds.
Department of Dermatology, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Luluah
L
Al-Mubarak
Department of Dermatology, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Mohammed
M
Al-Haddab
Adhesive; bonding; closure; cutaneous; cyanoacrylate; glue; skin; soldering; staple; surgery; suture; tape; wound; zipper