Suture Closure Trial

Brief Summary

Closure of surgical incisions in orthopedic procedures contributes to patient postoperative pain and risk of complication. As the focus on improving orthopedic surgery outcomes shifts to best practices in postoperative pain management, it is important to consider suture types and techniques. This study specifically would focus on comparing different suture types and techniques and their efficacy. This will be a randomized controlled trial comparing currently used, standard of care suture types and currently used, standard of care suture techniques to identify differences, if any exist, in postoperative pain scores and wound healing as assessed by exam and postoperative patient surveys. Patients will be identified by the Emory Upper Extremity/Hand Surgeons as they are identified as a candidate for surgery. Participants will then be informed of the study and spoken to about the specifics of the study. The research team will consent and recruit patients either in The Emory Clinic or in the preoperative area prior to surgery. All surgical operations will take place at the ambulatory surgical center in The Emory Clinic or at the Emory University Orthopaedic and Spine Hospital. Patients will not be compensated for participation in this study. No specimens/data/samples will be collected and stored for later use, and there are no optional substudies. This proposed study will address the lack of published literature regarding the suture technique in hand and wrist surgery in particular. Combined with examining various suture materials, the proposal has the potential to provide a valuable and actionable base of knowledge to the current body of literature.