Similar infection rates in a new wound closure method following knee arthroplasty

Shuyang Liu; Samantha N Andrews; Landon H Morikawa; Maya Y Matsumoto; Kristin A Mathews; Cass K Nakasone

doi:10.1016/j.jor.2021.09.009

Similar infection rates in a new wound closure method following knee arthroplasty

J Orthop. 2021 Sep 22:27:141-144. doi: 10.1016/j.jor.2021.09.009. eCollection 2021 Sep-Oct.

Authors

Shuyang Liu¹, Samantha N Andrews^{2

3}, Landon H Morikawa³, Maya Y Matsumoto³, Kristin A Mathews³, Cass K Nakasone^{2

3}

Affiliations

¹ John A Burns School of Medicine, 651 Ilalo Street, Honolulu, HI, 96813, USA.
² University of Hawai'i, Department of Surgery, 1356 Lusitana Street, Honolulu, HI, 96813, USA.
³ Straub Medical Center, Bone and Joint Center, 888 South King Street, Honolulu, HI, 96818, USA.

Abstract

Surgical site infections, defined as acute wound infections requiring surgical intervention within 90 days post-surgery, were retrospectively compared between a novel, zipper-like closure method (ZM) and staples in 682 patients (904 knees) and 772 patients (971 knees), respectively. The incidence of deep infections was 0.6% for staples and 0.2% for ZM (p = 0.169) and superficial infections was 0.1% for staples and 0.0% for ZM (p = 0.518). With no difference in wound complications, the ZM may be preferred since the two-week post-operative clinic visit required for wound check and staple removal was eliminated, thereby, decreasing clinic volume.

Keywords: Infection; Knee arthroplasty; Wound closure; Zipper method.