Interrupted versus Continuous Suture Technique for Ventricular Septal Defects Surgical Closure

Background: Ventricular septal defect (VSD) is the most frequent congenital cardiac defect. Conventionally, open-heart surgical repair through cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) is the primary approach for many years. Objective: Given the absence of a reliable evidence on the optimal suture technique regarding the efficacy and morbidity, this study aimed to compare the postoperative complication rates and the outcomes of the interrupted and continuous suture techniques for the surgical VSD closure. Patients and Methods: This retrospective cohort study included 140 consecutive children who underwent surgical closure of congenital VSD of any type with or without associated congenital heart diseases. Patients with associated major cardiac anomalies were excluded. Preoperative, operative, and long-term outcomes data including VSD residual and heart block that needed permanent pacemaker (PPM) were collected from medical files. The closure was performed using interrupted sutures in 76 (54.3%, group 1), and by continuous sutures in 74 (45.7%, group 2) patients. Results: Three (3.9%) patients in group 1 and four (6.3%) patients in group 2 developed heart block that needed PPM, with no significant difference (p=0.702). Four (5.3%) patients in group 1 compared with two (3.1%) patients in group 2 had clinically and sizable (by echocardiography) significant residual, with no significant differences between both groups (p=0.688). Conclusion: The present study indicates that interrupted and continuous VSD closure techniques have comparable success and postoperative complication rates. Thus, the optimal suturing technique for VSD clo­sure cannot be standardized, and their predilection depends on the experience and the comfort of the surgeons.