One-centimeter suture spacing is not associated with improved cosmetic outcomes compared with 2-centimeter suture spacing on wounds, according to a study published online April 27 in the British Journal of Dermatology .

Karin Eshagh, M.D., from the UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, and colleagues compared cosmetic outcomes for suturing with 1-cm versus 2-cm interval subcuticular sutures. Fifty patients were enrolled in a randomized split-wound trial where half the wound was repaired with sutures spaced 1 cm apart and half with sutures spaced 2 cm apart. The scar was evaluated by blinded observers and patients three months after surgery using the validated Patient and Observer Scar Assessment Scale (POSAS) assessment instrument.

The researchers observed no significant difference at three months in the total mean POSAS score for observers for the sides that received 1- and 2-cm interval subcuticular sutures. Furthermore, there was no significant difference between the sides in the patient assessment scale score at three months.

"Our results do not support the use of increased subcuticular suture use for improvement of cosmetic outcomes on the face and neck, at least for the suture intervals we studied," the authors write.

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