Introduction: The complications of surgical wound closure in patients with risk factors significantly increases morbidity and mortality. The aim of the present study was to evaluate differences in abdominal wall closure in patients with risk factors with the same closure technique and slow-absorbable or non-absorbable sutures.
Material and methods: We performed a prospective, multicenter, comparative study of polydioxanone versus nylon sutures. Laparotomies performed for intestinal diseases and hepatobiliopancreatic procedures in patients with at least one risk factor were included. Exclusions criteria were eventrations, interventions for obesity, the need for reinforcement sutures, uncommon incisions, life expectancy of less than 1.5 years and deaths unrelated to the wound. Closure was performed with monoplane, extracutaneous, continuous, en bloc, loop sutures. Infection, evisceration, dehiscence, extrusion, sinus, eventration, intolerance, and pain were evaluated. Postoperative follow-up was performed at 10 and 30 days, 3 and 6 months, and at 1 and 1.5 years.
Results: A total of 770 patients were included (451 in the polydioxanone group and 319 in the nylon group). A total of 78.05% were midline incisions, with a mean length of 23.3 cm. Caliber 1 sutures were most frequently used (85.45%), and 1.7 sutures were used per patient. No complications occurred in 94.03% with no differences between groups (94.7% polydioxanone and 93.1% nylon). The results were similar throughout follow-up. The surgical infection rate was 10%. No differences were found in any of the follow-up assessments in any of the variables analyzed.
Conclusions: Abdominal wall closure should be performed with continuous slow-absorption sutures such as polydioxanone since this type of suture has a similar complication rate to reabsorbable sutures and presents greater biocompatibility.