EVALUATION OF KNOTLESS BARBED SUTURE IN INTRAORAL SURGICAL PROCEDURES-SPLIT MOUTH STUDY

<p><strong><span>ABSTRACT<br></span></strong><strong><span>Introduction</span></strong><span>: Effective wound closure is critical in oral and maxillofacial surgery to ensure hemostasis, reduce infection risk, and promote optimal healing. Traditional silk sutures, while widely used, rely on knots that may harbour bacteria and disrupt tension distribution. Knotless barbed sutures, designed with barbs along their length, offer potential advantages by eliminating knots and evenly distributing tension. This study compared barbed and silk sutures in intraoral surgeries, evaluating closure time, healing, and bacterial colonization. <strong>Materials and Methods</strong>: A single-blind, split-mouth clinical trial was conducted on 15 patients undergoing bilateral intraoral surgical procedures. One side was closed with barbed sutures and the contralateral side with silk sutures. Closure time was recorded intraoperatively. On day seven, wound healing was assessed using the Landry index, and removed sutures were evaluated microbiologically for bacterial colonization (CFU/ml). Data were analyzed using SPSS v26 with t-tests and Mann-Whitney U tests; p<0.05 was considered significant. </span></p> <p><strong><span>Results</span></strong><span>: Barbed sutures significantly reduced closure time (93.26±115.53 s) compared to silk (231.80±201.99 s; p=0.02). Wound healing scores were significantly better with barbed sutures (mean rank 20.07 vs. 10.93; p<0.001). Bacterial colonization was also markedly lower on barbed sutures (59466.66±10815.77 CFU/ml) than silk (102533.33±211673.33 CFU/ml; p<0.001). </span></p> <p><strong><span>Conclusion</span></strong><span>: Knotless barbed sutures offer a promising alternative to conventional silk sutures in oral surgeries, reducing operative time, improving healing, and lowering infection risks, thus enhancing both surgical efficiency and patient outcomes.</span></p> <h3><strong><span>Keywords</span></strong><span>: Barbed sutures, silk sutures, oral surgery, wound healing, bacterial colonization, knotless sutures</span></h3>