Stitching alternatives?

Comments

• Ben

  January 2011

  The curing process involves some chemical reactions. They are probably the main reasons for any allergical reactions occuring. Wouldn't wanna have this in or on my skin... Oh, and if you react it is not only hurting a little, depending on the strength and how often you repeat the exposure this might lead to anaphylactic shock.
  
  Plus: it won't work. Sugru needs to long to cure, you would need something that hardens faster. Lepht mentioned spray plaster. This is great stuff, the bleeding should be close to a stop, however, 'cause otherwise it will push through... (tried that one before)
  
• Version2

  January 2011

  Wounds heal better when they can breathe. Sealing a wound in silicon or anything else would increase healing time at best, become infected at worst. Use a stitch or a bandage, there's no reason to seal your finger up. If you're worried about using your hands and getting stuff in the wound, just use (CLEAN!!!) gloves when you're working with messy stuff then take them off after wards.
• Rhiesa

  January 2011

  Clean gloves should be standard protocol for any surgical procedure.
• Dillinger1983

  January 2011

  Good points everyone, thanks. I'll be staying away from sugru as a healing method.
• Ben

  January 2011

  @Rhiesa: I guess that bit about the clean gloves was for after the surgical procedure, when you want to use the hand but keep it clean ;)
  
• nibot

  January 2011

  Nobody thought of medical skinglue?
  It's not really cheap, but it's used for wounds up to 50cm ...
  just ask google what distributor is in your region for "Epiglu", "Histoacryl" or "Dermabond"
  
  I think Dermabond was the most expencive one ...
  but they all work quiet well, hardens fast and is very easy to apply
• Dillinger1983

  January 2011

  I've heard stories of people closing wounds with superglue, can anyone confirm this? If that won't work maybe I'll light some gunpowder on the cut Rambo-style lol. I'll check out dermabond though, that seems like a good option.
• Unqualified

  January 2011

  Those above are the medical-grade cryanoacrylates - the doctor-approved superglues. You can use methyl-2 cryanoacrylate - what's sold as Superglue - but it's a bit rough on tissue, and cures exothermically, which can end badly. If you can find the medical ones - or even the vet-approved ones (given the choice between holding a cat still for sutures or dabbing on some glue, which would you pick?), they would probably be better.
  
• Unqualified

  January 2011

  Bloody hell, when did I adopt Emily Dickinson's rules on punctuation?
  
• Dillinger1983

  January 2011

  Thanks for clearing that up, Unqualified.
• Ffaway

  January 2011

  Not a professional opinion, but I totally approve of using super glues to seal wounds. When I was a kid, I was big into table-top strategy games (warhammer, warhammer 40k) and you use an easily dulled x-acto knife to cut the miniatures out of their sprues and shave mold leaks off of the models. I couldn't tell you the number of times I've cut my fingers by accident, and ended up glue the wound shut with the same glue that I was using to glue the miniature with.

  
  

  Its a bit expensive, but I highly recommend this: http://www.tabletopwargames.com/supplies/60-01-12.htm for sealing cuts shut. There are probably cheaper alternatives that work just as well, and can be found in a local hobby shop.

  
  

  Some notes though- these wounds never made it very far past the skin, so I can't say how cuts will heal if you get the glue IN the wound. I'd suggest making sure that the cut is closed while the glue dries- it doesn't take more than a couple minutes generally to get a good bond. And you're going to want to put a bandage around the wound, especially for deep cuts. Glue water proofs a wound exceptionally well, but doesn't always hold together perfectly- a back up bandage keeping the cut relatively tight is never a bad idea.
• Version2

  January 2011

  From a post on a different forum (

  http://www.physicsforums.com/archive/index.php/t-85071.html):

  
  

  Dermatol Clin. 2005 Apr;23(2):193-8.
  
  Cyanoacrylates for skin closure.
  
  Eaglstein WH, Sullivan T.
  
  Cyanoacrylates (CAs) were not widely adopted for medical use until recently because of lingering concerns regarding the initial tissue toxicities of the short-chain CAs. The medium-chain CAs, primarily butyl-cyanoacrylate, have been widely used in Europe and Canada for several decades and have gone a long way in dispelling any lingering concerns about tissue toxicity. The newer, longer chain CA, octyl-2-cyanoacrylate (2-OCA), now has been approved for multiple uses in the United States and has achieved widespread acceptance by the medical and lay communities. The current authors believe that this is probably only the beginning of the use of 2-OCA and other CAs in cutaneous medicine. This article discusses the use of CAs in their original cutaneous use as glues for the repair of lacerations and incisions and in their more recent use as dressings for the treatment of abrasions and wounds.

  
  (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=15837150&query_hl=1)
  
  J Surg Res. 2005 May 15;125(2):161-7.
  
  Evaluation of an absorbable cyanoacrylate adhesive as a suture line sealant.
  
  Ellman PI, Brett Reece T, Maxey TS, Tache-Leon C, Taylor JL, Spinosa DJ, Pineros-Fernandez AC, Rodeheaver GT, Kern JA.
  
  BACKGROUND: Previous formulations of cyanoacrylate, though very effective, proved to have too high a tissue reactivity to be used internally. A novel cyanoacrylate compound with less tissue reactivity was recently developed. The objective of this study was to assess this novel cyanoacrylate compound for the use as vascular suture line sealant. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twelve adult female sheep received a 6 mm PTFE interposition graft in each iliac artery, for a total of 24 grafts. Using oxidized cellulose (Surgicel) as a control, two formulations of a new cyanoacrylate compound (named "compound A" and "compound B") were assessed during this trial. Hemostatic efficiency was measured at the time of operation by the assessment of bleeding time and amount of blood loss. Long-term graft patency was assessed angiographically at 4, 6, and 18 months. Tissue reaction at 2 weeks, 1, 6, and 18 months was assessed grossly by vascular surgeons and microscopically by a blinded pathologist. RESULTS: Average time to hemostasis was 37.6, 50.6, and 219 s in group A, group B, and oxidized cellulose control groups, respectively (P<or=0.001 for both compounds versus control). There were no significant differences between groups with regards to graft patency. Histopathology analysis demonstrated mild to moderate tissue reaction at 2 weeks and 1 month in the cyanoacrylate groups compared with controls at 1 month (ANOVA P=0.004). Mild tissue reaction was seen at 6 months and 18 months, with no significant differences between groups (ANOVA P=0.08, 0.62, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The novel cyanoacrylate compound examined in this study is a highly effective suture line sealant with only mild tissue reactivity and no significant effects on graft patency when studied over an 18 month period.
  
  (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=15854669&query_hl=1) 

  
  

  
  

  
  

  That being said I still wouldn't use it, but that's because I have my own after care routine that I use, namely, bandage/suture then leave it alone for a week. I prefer dry healing my modifications because it's just easier for me.

  
  

  I also found this at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Dermabond-Topical-Adhesive-Cyanoacrylate-Viscosity/dp/B002TWN5J0