Sutures vs. Staples

We all have experienced minor or even major cuts and injuries at some point in our lives. These could be caused due to accidents or could result from surgical procedures. Such wounds can sometimes heal on their own; at other times, medical intervention is required. Doctors commonly use Medical Devices called Surgical Sutures or Surgial Staples to close open cuts on the skin surface.

Understanding Sutures vs. Staples

Both sutures and staples working in their own ways to offer an efficient way of closing wounds. Let’s take a closer look at each of them.

What are Sutures?

Sutures are medical grade threads that are used to close open wound or Injury on or beneath the Skin Surface. These threads could be made of various materials – nylon, silk, and polypropylene are commonly used. These non-absorbable sutures are usually removed a few days after they have been applied, when the affected area has healed. Alternatively, the doctor may also choose to use absorbable sutures that do not need removal.

What are Staples?

Surgical Staples are generally used to close wounds that might be tough to stitch or hard to reach. Surgical Staples are generally made of plastic, Stainless Steel, and Titanium. Staples can aid in the quick closure of a wound for topical skin closure; however, they must never be applied on the face or neck.

The difference between sutures and Staples

An understanding of the differences between sutures and staples helps surgeons make a decision on which one to use. As stated earlier, staples are commonly used in quick closure of the wounds that are causing heavy blood loss. In such cases, there may not be enough time for the doctor to apply sutures. These situations can be seen in cases of Trauma or injury due to accidents where there is no time to stitch up a wound that is bleeding excessively. In these cases, stapling is highly recommended for closing the wound in a few minutes.

Staples facilitate quick wound closure reducing the surgery time. It also promotes good cosmetic effect post surgery; however, there are studies that indicate stapling to be associated with a higher level of scarring.

However, sutures have their own benefits when closing wounds too. The primary one being that Sutures when used by an experienced hand, offers quick and reliable skin closure.

Patients often have concerns with the level of scarring involved in sutures and staples. In this regard, both sutures and staples offers almost similar level of cosmetic effect to the treated surface. However, staples are not recommended for us on the facial area as this can cause immense scarring on sensitive areas of skin. For the areas like Hands, Feet and sometimes neck region, Staples can be used. For Oral and facial applications, sutures are best used.

Your surgeon decides whether to close the wound with Suture or Staples depending on his preference and the wound condition. The post Operative wound pain at the site of Suture or Staples is managed with the help of antibiotics and pain killer pills.

Experience the latest in suture technology from Meril

FILASILK from Meril is a non-absorbable braided coated suture. It has been made from natural silk filaments and offers good knot security. FILASILK has a wide range of applications and is widely used in general surgery and oral surgery.

Meril also offers absorbable variant of suture called MITSU™ POLYGLACTIN 910 SUTURES. MITSU™ is a mid-term absorbable braided and coated synthetic suture. It has been made of poly (glycolide-co-l-lactide) (90/10). MITSU™ degrades through hydrolysis with a very reliable and predictable absorption. MITSU™ can be used in any soft tissue approximation during gynaecology, general surgery, orthopedics, oncology, and bariatric procedures, as well as in other similar medical procedures.

Conclusions

In the future, we may see more evolved ways of closing wounds. As research keeps revealing newer and better techniques in medicine, Meril too brings you the latest medical technology for better healing and health. FILASILK and MITSU™ from Meril offer the top quality and technology for suturing with comfort and reliability.

We hope that this was an informative read for you today.