• Christoph Justinger, Jochen Schuld, Jens Sperling, Otto Kollmar, Sven Richter, and Martin Karl Schilling.
• Department of General, Visceral, Vascular and Pediatric Surgery, University of Saarland, 66421 Homburg/Saar, Germany. christoph.justinger@uks.eu
• Langenbecks Arch Surg. 2011 Aug 1; 396 (6): 845-50.

ObjectivesWound infections after abdominal surgery are still frequent types of nosocomial infections. Suture materials might serve as a vehicle for mechanical transport of bacteria into the surgical wound. To reduce bacterial adherence to surgical sutures, triclosan-coated polyglactin 910 suture materials with antiseptic activity (Vicryl plus®) were developed. The aim of this prospective non-randomized clinical pathway driven study was to ascertain if the use of Vicryl plus® reduced the number of wound infections after transverse laparotomy.Patients And MethodsBetween October 2003 and October 2007, 839 operations were performed using a transverse abdominal incision. In the first time period, a PDSII® loop suture was used for abdominal wall closure. In the second time period, we used Vicryl plus®. Risk factors were collected prospectively to compare the two groups.ResultsUsing a PDSII® loop suture for abdominal wall closure in the first time period, 9.2% of the patients developed wound infections. In the second time period, using Vicryl plus®, the number of wound infections decreased to 4.3% (p < 0,005). Both groups were comparable regarding risk factors despite no other changes in protocols of patient care.ConclusionAntiseptic-coated loop Vicryl suture for abdominal wall closure can be superior to PDSII sutures in respect to the development of wound infections after a two-layered closure of transverse laparotomy.

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