7- Application of skin adhesives in head and neck surgery

Background: In this work cyanoacrylate-based skin adhesives used in Germany for skin closure in head and neck surgery are compared with respect to ease of application, cost-effectiveness and cosmetic results.

Patients and materials: We compared 25 wounds sealed with a skin adhesive with 25 suture-sealed wounds.

Results: Bonding of surgical wounds with glue had a high level of acceptance in all patients. The tedious, time-consuming and sometimes painful postoperative removal of many sutures in patients is omitted. Patients can shower soon afterwards without additional protection as the adhesive provides a waterproof barrier. Problems of wound healing can immediately be detected through the transparent skin adhesive. Cosmetic long-term results of skin closure by adhesives are comparable to suture-sealed wounds.

Conclusions: The adhesives available on the market differ mainly in the form of the applicator, the viscosity on application, as well as the strength after hardening. The application is easy to implement and significantly faster than conventional suturing. Apart from the cost savings of materials compared to the use of skin sutures and investment of Steri-Strips, expensive anesthesia and surgical time can also be saved.