Joint reconstruction remains a successful and popular surgery with advances in approaches, implants and techniques continually forthcoming. Various methods of skin closure exist to address issues in efficiency, aesthetics, and barrier to infection. While subcuticular skin closure techniques offer an aesthetic advantage to conventional skin stapling, no measurable differences have been reported. Furthermore, newer barbed sutures, such as the V-loc absorbable suture, A retrospective chart review was conducted of 278 consecutive primary joint reconstruction cases performed by a single surgeon in 12 months from July 2009 through June 2010. Pre-operative history & physical reports were evaluated for co-morbidities (i.e diabetes mellitus), smoking status and body mass index (BMI). Operative dictations by the attending surgeon provided information on the surgical procedure, use of drain, wound closure technique and type of suture/staple used for skin closure. Skin was closed by the primary surgeon and his chief resident. Wounds were closed via staple gun or subcuticular stitch (3-0 Biosyn vs V-Loc) in a consecutive manner, depending on the surgeon's preference in that period. Post-operative clinic notes were reviewed to determine the occurrence of wound complications, issuance of antibiotic prescriptions, or return to the operating room. The cohort consisted of 106 males and 161 females at an average age of 63 years (range: 18–92). Overall, there were 153 procedures at the knee (including TKA, uni-compartmental arthroplasty, patello-femoral arthroplasty) and 125 procedures at the hip (including THA and hemi-arthroplasty).Introduction
Methods & Materials
