Sutures deemed superior to staples for C-section closure

(HealthDay)—Compared with staple closure, suture closure of the skin after cesarean delivery is associated with a reduced incidence of wound complications, according to research published online May 6 in Obstetrics & Gynecology.

A. Dhanya Mackeen, M.D., M.P.H., of the Geisinger Health System in Danville, Pa., and colleagues randomly assigned women undergoing cesarean delivery at 23 weeks of gestation or greater to suture closure (370 patients) or staple closure (376 patients) of the skin incision. The researchers assessed the incidence of wound complications between the groups, including infection, hematoma, seroma, separation of 1 cm or longer, and readmission for wound complications.

The researchers found that women in the suture closure group were less likely to have wound complications than those in the staple closure group (4.9 versus 10.6 percent; adjusted odds ratio [OR], 0.43; 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 0.23 to 0.78). This outcome was largely because of the difference in incidence of wound separation between the suture closure and staple closure groups (1.6 and 7.4 percent, respectively; adjusted OR, 0.20; 95 percent CI, 0.07 to 0.51).

"Suture closure of the skin incision at cesarean delivery is associated with a 57 percent decrease in wound complications compared with staple closure," the authors write.

Ethicon Inc. funded the study.