Annals of surgical oncology
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When a wound cannot be closed in a linear fashion and either a local flap or skin graft is needed, a purse-string suture can be a useful adjunct to wound closure. Local tissue architecture is maintained in cases where clear surgical margins have not been achieved at the time of extirpative skin cancer surgery. We hypothesized that this technique could be applied to a range of wound sizes and locations to avoid or reduce the need for skin grafting. ⋯ Purse-string sutures are helpful for wound closure in wounds that cannot be closed primarily. They can decrease the size of a skin graft if the wound cannot be closed completely. Wound re-expansion, particularly in extremity defects, may occur following early removal of the tension-bearing purse string.