ORIGINAL ARTICLES: PDF Only

The Purse-String Suture in Facial Reconstruction

BRADY, GREG J. CDR, MC, USN¹; GRANDE, DONALD J. MD¹; KATZ, ARNOLD E. MD¹

¹ Department of Dermatology (JGB), Naval Hospital, San Diego, California, the Department of Dermatology (DJC), Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, and the Divisions of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery (AEK), State University of New York, Stonybrook, New York.

Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Donald J. Grande, MD, Department of Dermatology, New England Medical Center Hospitals, 750 Washington Street, Box 114, Boston, MA 02111.

Read before the 23rd Annual Scientific Sessions, American College of Mohs Micrographic Surgery and Cutaneous Oncology, Orlando, Florida, March 13, 1991.

This article was written by J. Greg Brady, CDR, MC, USN, while a Mohs surgery fellow at the New England Medical Center, Baston, MA. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Navy. Department of Defence, nor the U.S. Government.

The Journal of Dermatologic Surgery and Oncology 18(9):p 812-816, September 1992. | DOI: 10.1111/j.1524-4725.1992.tb03039.x

Buy

Abstract

Mohs surgical defects in 26 patients were reconstructed utilizing a purse-string suture and a full-thickness graft. The placement of the purse-string suture decreased the surface area of the wound an average of 53%. A full-thickness graft was then placed in the remaining defect. This technique enabled us to repair large wounds of the facial region with a relatively small full-thickness graft. There were no complications in our series. The resultant areas were cosmetically acceptable and resistant to trauma. J Dermatol Surg Oncol 1992;18:812–816.