Timing of Suture Removal to Reduce Scarring in Skin Surgery, v1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Timing of Suture Removal to Reduce Scarring in Skin Surgery
IRAS ID
303519
Contact name
Emily McGrath
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Assistant R&D Manager
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 5 months, days
Research summary
Stitch marks (suture marks/track marks) are permanent marks left in the skin where stitches have caused local tissue damage and scarring. The risk of formation is thought to be related to length of time that stitches are left in. In skin surgery, wounds are usually closed in 2 layers, we propose that if the deep sutures bring together the wound well enough, then there is no need to keep superficial stitches in for longer than 7 days. We believe that stitch removal at 7 days rather than 10 days reduces the risk of stitch marks without increasing the risk of the wound opening up.
We would like to perform a small study to assess how practical it will be to perform a full study to look at whether earlier removal of superficial stitches (7 days rather than 10 days) reduces the risk of stitch marks.
We would also like to assess the impact that stitch marks have on patients, the effect of early stitch removal on the overall appearance of the scar, and the effect of early stitch removal on the number of wound complications.
Summary of study results:
In this study, we compared scar outcomes in patients who underwent skin surgery with suture placement. One group had sutures removed at 7 days, and the other group at 10 days. We followed these groups 3 months after their surgery and then aimed to see whether there was a difference in overall appearances of their scars. We believe that leaving sutures in for too long (i.e 10+ days) may increase the appearance of scarring.
Our preliminary data suggests that participants felt their overall scar appearance was worse in the 10 day group compared to the 7 day group, with the appearance of suture marks also felt to be worse in the 10 day group compared to the 7 day group. This was true for patient collected data, and also doctor collected data at 3 month follow up.
As this was a pilot study, it was not designed with large numbers to definitively say whether there is a true difference between the 2 groups. With the data we collected, we were able to determine the number of participants needed for a future trial to establish whether the preliminary results about would be significant or not.
REC name
East of England - Essex Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
21/EE/0199
Date of REC Opinion
10 Nov 2021
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion