Modified purse-string suture in closure of skin defects: scar minimization and tension adjustment

Objective To explore the effect of intraoperative tension adjustment and postoperative scar formation in the treatment of circular skin defects using modified purse-string suture.Methods Twenty-eight cases of circular lesions in the face region were selected and resected along the edge.We first used purse-string suture technique to reduce the circular defect area,and then closed the wound with linear suture in random direction.After 7 days,the stitches were removed and longterm follow-up effects were observed.Results All patients had no facial organ deformation and displacement,the length of the linear scar lesions was shorter than the preoperative length.In 28 cases,one patient's surgical wound was dehisced after removal of stitches in 24 h,and the rest of the skin defects healed after operation in stage Ⅰ.All cases were followed up for 3 months to 1 year,and had a satisfactory therapeutic effect.Conclusions Modified purse-string suture can linearly close the dicision in stage Ⅰ,reduce the scar area and maintain the normal morphology and relative position of the nearby organs. Key words: Purse-string suture;  Circular skin defects;  Tension;  Scar