A comparison of 2-octyl cyanoacrylate with nylon for wound closure of knee arthroscopy portals.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the cosmetic results, complications and patient satisfaction of 2-octyl cyanoacrylate (Dermabond, Ethicon Inc. Somerville, NJ, USA), a liquid bonding agent, with 3-0 nylon sutures (Ethilon, Ethicon Inc) skin closure in two groups of patients undergoing elective knee arthroscopy at 6 weeks.

METHOD: The retrospective clinical audit recruited patients undergoing knee surgery for the first time between October 2010 and August 2011. The patients were either treated with the liquid bonding agent or nylon sutures. The patients in the bonding agent group were allowed to shower as normal on postoperative day one, while patients in the suture group kept their wounds dry for 2 weeks.

RESULTS: Between the two groups (40 patients per group) there was no difference in the cosmetic outcome (p=0.285), patient satisfaction (p=0.29), pain scores (p=0.44) or wound complication rate (p<0.05). Patient satisfaction was high in both groups. Furthermore, 83.75% of all patients indicated they would prefer the liquid bonding closure over nylon sutures if undergoing the same procedure in the future as they could shower the next day and avoid suture removal.

CONCLUSION: 2-octyl cyanoacrylate is safe to use in the short term in knee arthroscopy providing comparable results to nylon suture closure. Allowing patients to shower the next day appears to cause no adverse effects.

DECLARATION OF INTEREST: The authors would like to state that they do not have any economic or social interest in any of the products used or mentioned. No grant or finance was received for this study, nor any input from other sources.