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The Effect of a Hydrogen Peroxide Wound Care Regimen on Tensile Strength of Suture
Raghu S. Athre, MD;
Jesung Park, PhD;
Joseph L. Leach, MD
Arch Facial Plast Surg. 2007;9(4):281-284.
Objective To compare the tensile strength of nylon, polypropylene, and fast-absorbing gut sutures treated with either 3% hydrogen peroxide or water for a period of 5 days to emulate a wound care regimen.
Methods An In-Spec 2200 bench-top tester was used to find the maximum load that a particular suture could sustain prior to breaking.
Results Analysis of the data showed a statistically significant decrease in tensile strength of fast-absorbing gut sutures treated with hydrogen peroxide compared with fast-absorbing gut suture control samples and fast-absorbing gut sutures treated with only water.
Conclusion Though no in vivo studies were performed, a logical extension of these results would be that premature degradation of fast-absorbing gut sutures secondary to use of hydrogen peroxide might lead to widened and/or hypertrophic scars.
Author Affiliations: Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, The University of Texas, Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas (Drs Athre and Leach); and Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Texas, Austin (Dr Park).
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