Skin Closure Using Surgical Skin Staples May Have Increased Risk for Deep Surgical Site Infection Compared to Running Subcuticular Stitch Using Absorbable Suture in Posterior Lumbar Spine Surgery: A Single-Surgeon Experience

<b><i>Background:</i></b> Most systemic analyses of optimum wound closure have not found significant differences in the surgical site infection (SSI) rates between the different methods of skin closure. A recent international survey reported that spine surgeons used continuous sutures, interrupted sutures, and surgical skin staples (SS) frequently for skin closure. We found that SS and running subcuticular stitch using absorbable suture (RSAS) were the two most common methods of skin closure in our spine division, and one surgeon had routinely used SS for skin closure until early 2020, at which time the surgeon switched to RSAS. Our hypothesis was that the infection rate would not be different whether the skin is closed with SS or RSAS. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> After IRB approval, a retrospective review of billing and hospital records at a tertiary referral academic medical center was used to identify all open posterior lumbar spine surgeries (OPLS) by a single surgeon in 2018-22 and obtain demographics, clinical history, and surgical characteristics. The inclusion criterion was OPLS closed with the RSAS or SS. Exclusion criteria were oncologic condition and previous infection in the surgical site. <b><i>Results:</i></b> There were no significant differences between RSAS and SS groups in the risk factors such as age, BMI, history of diabetes or smoking, number of levels decompressed per case, number of levels fused per instrumented case, and operative time. The incidence of previous surgical procedure in the same site and the percentage of cases with instrumented fusion were both greater in the RSAS group, which should have resulted in greater risk for SSI in the RSAS group. However, the deep SSI rate in the RSAS group (1.4% = 3/216) was less than that in the SS group (5.9% = 6/101), and the difference was statistically significant (p = 0.02). <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> SS skin closure may have a greater risk for deep SSI compared with RSAS skin closure in OPLS.