Orthopedic Skin Closure in South India: Sutures Versus Staples and Their Postoperative Outcomes

Introduction Skin closure is an essential step in deciding the success of a surgery. Despite this, the choice of skin closure material is frequently overlooked when making surgical decisions. Skin closure plays an important role in promoting rapid wound healing and decreasing the length of hospital stay, especially in orthopedic surgeries. Our study focused on comparing the outcome of wound closure in orthopedic surgeries with sutures and staples in a South Indian population. Materials and methods We enrolled 120 patients undergoing orthopedic procedures at Chettinad Hospital and Research Institute from July 2023 to February 2024. Patients were randomly assigned to skin closure with either staples or sutures. Wound inspection was done on the 2^nd, 5^th, 7^th and 12^th post-operative days. The patients were evaluated at six months using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and Hollander Wound Evaluation Score (HWES). Results Staple closure significantly reduced mean closure time (5.2 ± 0.9 minutes) compared to sutures (12.6 ± 1.5 minutes, p < 0.0001). Pain during staple removal was less (VAS score 1.41 ± 0.15) than with suture removal (VAS score 1.57 ± 0.2, p = 0.024). Although patient satisfaction was similar between the groups (Staples: 8.35 ± 0.45 vs. Sutures: 8.0 ± 0.5, p = 0.062), staples provided superior cosmetic outcomes (HWES: 4.1 ± 0.7) compared to sutures (HWES: 3.3 ± 0.6, p = 0.003). Complication rates, including infection, discharge, and hypertrophic scar formation, were comparable between the two methods. Conclusion Staple closure in orthopedic surgeries offers several advantages over sutures, including reduced operative time, less pain during removal, and superior cosmetic results. These benefits occur without an increased risk of wound complications. This study suggests that staples may be a preferable option for skin closure in orthopedic procedures, though further research with extended follow-up is needed to fully assess long-term outcomes.