Interrupted or Continuous Slowly Absorbable Sutures For Closure of Primary Elective Midline Abdominal Incisions

OBJECTIVE: In patients undergoing midline incisions, the abdominal fascia can be closed with a continuous or interrupted suture using various materials. The aim of this study is to compare: (1) interrupted technique with rapidly absorbable sutures and (2) continuous techniques with different slowly absorbable sutures, focusing on the incidence of incisional hernias within 1 year. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: A meta-analysis suggested that the incidence of incisional hernias can be more effectively reduced with slowly absorbable continuous sutures. METHODS: Multicenter randomized surgical trial with 3 parallel groups. Patients were scheduled for primary elective midline incisions. All surgeons were trained (4:1 suture wound length in continuous groups) and monitored. Primary end point, measured within 1 year after surgery, was the frequency of incisional hernias diagnosed by clinical examination and confirmed by ultrasound. Complications and safety were used as secondary end points. This study has been registered with the ISRCTN Register (INSECT: ISRCTN24023541). RESULTS: Conducted on 625 randomized patients (210 interrupted Vicryl, 205 continuous polydioxanone suture (PDS), 210 continuous Monoplus), the primary analysis showed an incidence of 28 incisional hernias (15.9%) versus 15 (8.4%) versus 22 (12.5%) for the 3 closure techniques, respectively (P = 0.09). No significant difference was observed between the 3 groups with regard to burst abdomen (4 2.0% vs. 6 3.0% vs. 8 4.0%, P = 0.46), wound infection (26 12.7% vs. 39 19.4% vs. 33 16.3%, P = 0.19), pulmonary infections (9 4.4% vs. 5 2.5% vs. 5 2.5%, P = 0.46), serious adverse events (63 30.0% vs. 57 27.8% vs. 61 29.1%, P = 0.89), and 1-year mortality (16 7.9% vs. 11 5.5% vs. 16 7.9%, P = 0.54). CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of incisional hernias and the frequency of wound infection was higher than expected in all groups. New concepts need to be developed and studied to substantially reduce the frequency of incisional hernias.