Abstract
A prospective comparative study of layered closure versus mass closure of vertical midline laparotomy incisions was undertaken in 314 consecutive patients of indigenous Negroid ancestry. Group A (109 patients) had mass closure and group B (205 patients) had layered closure. The patients were similar in both groups. Group A consisted of 49 (45%) emergencies and 60 (55%) elective cases, and group B of 93 (45%) emergencies and 112 (55%) elective cases. There were 6 cases of burst abdomen and 4 cases of incisional hernia in group B; group A suffered no wound failure. The wound infection rates were 3.7% for group A and 10% for group B.
Mass closure carries lower wound failure rates than layered closure of laparotomy wounds, and polyamide sutures do not increase keloid formation in Negro patients.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.