Comparison of glues, sutures, and other commercially available methods of skin closure: A review of literature

Objectives: Octyl-2-cyanoacrylate (Dermabond) is a soft tissue adhesive that has been approved for topical use to close traumatic lacerations and surgical incisions.   We review paediatric and adult human studies that compared octyl-2-cyanoacrylate with conventional closure techniques in a variety of wounds.Methods: Medline were searched using a combination of ‘tissue adhesives’, ‘cyanoacrylates’, ‘sutures’, ‘surgical staplers’ and ‘surgical tape’ for paediatric and adult studies comparing skin adhesives with other methods of wound closure. A review was performed using search results screened using predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria.Results: We found and summarized 17 studies comparing octyl-2-cyanoacrylate skin glue to conventional methods of skin closure.Conclusions: Octyl-2-cyanoacrylate skin adhesive produces similar cosmetic results to sutures and other current wound closure techniques while being cost effective, quick and easy to use. Studies suggest that it may be a preferable alternative to sutures.