Abstract: Guo Bingchen, Han Nana, Zhou Jiangfeng. Department of Dermatologic Surgery, Weifang Institute of Dermatology, Weifang 261041, Shandong, China Corresponding author: Han Nana, Email: hannana2006@126.com 【Abstract】 Objective To introduce an improved method of continuous intradermal suture, and to evaluate its clinical efficacy for the closure of surgical incisions. Methods Eighty-two patients were enrolled in this study, including 37 cases of nevus, 10 cases of basal cell carcinoma, 16 cases of sebaceous cyst, 6 cases of lipoma, 8 cases of seborrheic keratosis, 3 cases of dermatofibroma and 2 cases of depressed scar. All the patients were managed by simple surgical excision with the shortest length of postoperative incisions being 0.8 cm and the longest length being 12 cm. An improved method of continuous intradermal suture was used for the closure of all the postoperative incisions. Specifically, an absorbable thread with a small triangle needle in both ends was inserted through and pulled out from the dermal layer at one side of the incision, and then inserted through and pulled out from the dermal layer at the opposite side of the incision, which was repeated until the incision was entirely closed. Results Among the 82 patients, 80 achieved primary healing, and 2 developed erythematous painful swelling at the incision site 2 days after the operation, which disappeared after symptomatic treatment for 5 days. During 3－6 months of follow-up, the incisions closed leaving a flat and smooth surface in 78 patients, and proliferative scar formed in 4 patients, which was obviously improved after local injection with glucocorticoids. No disruption of incisions was observed. Conclusion The improved method of continuous intradermal suture can be applied to the closure of skin defects in the face, neck, trunk and extremities with a favorable healing outcome and cosmetic result.

Key words: Suture techniques, Cosmetic techniques, Skin diseases