Initial wound healing following interrupted closing sutures with versus without tension-relieving mattress suture in guided bone regeneration: a preliminary randomized clinical trial.

purposeThis prospective clinical study aimed to evaluate whether adding a tension-relieving horizontal mattress suture to simple interrupted sutures influences the occurrence and severity of postoperative wound dehiscence in horizontal guided bone regeneration (GBR) procedures.

methodsForty patients requiring horizontal GBR, either prior to or simultaneous with implant placement, were randomly allocated to 2 groups. Group "S" received simple interrupted sutures only, whereas group "S+H" received additional horizontal mattress sutures placed prior to interrupted sutures to relieve flap tension. At 2 weeks postoperatively, wound dehiscence width (DW), wound dehiscence length (DL), and the wound dehiscence length/incision-line ratio (DL/i) were measured. The occurrence rate of any dehiscence was also recorded. DW was designated as the primary outcome, whereas DL, DL/i, and dehiscence occurrence were secondary outcomes. Statistical analyses included the Shapiro-Wilk test for normality, the Mann-Whitney

resultsNo statistically significant differences were observed between the groups for DW (group S: 2.92±2.73 mm; group S+H: 2.17±2.51 mm), DL (group S: 5.32±5.49 mm; group S+H: 4.37±4.65 mm), or DL/i (group S: 0.42±0.41; group S+H: 0.34±0.38) (all

conclusionsBoth simple interrupted sutures alone and simple interrupted sutures combined with an additional tension-relieving horizontal mattress suture may be considered clinically acceptable approaches for achieving primary closure in horizontal GBR procedures.

trial registrationClinical Research Information Service Identifier: KCT0010574.