Staple Versus Suture Closure for Foot and Ankle Surgery

The material used for closure of surgical incision is often considered "dealer's choice" and usually is chosen from one (or a combination) of the following techniques: subcutaneous absorbable sutures, interrupted simple/mattress dermal sutures, or dermal staples. Factors that are typically taken into consideration include anatomic location, amount of tension involved in closure, shape of the incision and integrity of the skin involved in the closure, need for cosmesis, and surgeon comfort/past experience with different closure techniques. Previous randomized controlled trials, as well as meta-analyses, have analyzed sutures versus staples in orthopaedic surgeries, but often exclude foot and ankle surgeries as incisions are typically small and require more delicate closures. In RCTs involving other areas of the body, staples have been found to result in less wound infection and less time to insert/remove compared to sutures. They were also comparable to sutures in cosmetic result and patient satisfaction. These results are not known for surgeries of the foot and ankle. Both sutures and staples are routinely used during a typical foot and ankle surgery, without significant risk of wound dehiscence or complications. This study aims to determine if staples or sutures are better for the closure of uncomplicated foot and ankle surgeries. Currently, most surgeons base their choice for closure on previous teaching from a mentor during fellowship or personal experience. There is no standard of care for closure material on hand surgeries to date. This study will prospectively randomize patients to have either staple or suture wound closure if they have a short incision. In surgeries with longer incisions (i.e. 5+ cm), or multiple incisions on similar sites (i.e. bilateral operations, multiple toes), patients will have half sutures and half staple closure. The three primary measured outcomes will be: pain upon suture/staple removal, time to place and remove sutures vs. staples, and scar formation.