Here you’ll find links to short descriptions of the basic suturing techniques. The videos are intentionally brief, meant for review immediately prior to use by the novice or infrequent practitioner.
Basic Suturing
Simple Interrupted Sutures
Simple interrupted suturing is the most basic and most important of the suturing techniques. Here is a short demo video, meant for the beginning/infrequent practitioner to review prior to suturing a laceration. The second video is a demonstration of three of the most common errors I see students and resident make as they learn to…
Vertical Mattress Sutures
An excellent and underutilized technique is the placement of vertical mattress sutures in traumatic wounds, which combines the advantages of the deep dermal (removing tension from the skin surface) and the epidermal simple interrupted suture (wound edge approximation & eversion). This is an especially useful technique for areas where skin is lax or thin and…
Deep Dermal Sutures
What & why: Simple interrupted dermal sutures (more commonly referred to as deep dermal sutures) are sutures placed within the dermal layer to reduce the static tension on a gaping wound. Suture selection: In contrast to the epidermal layer, where you will most often be using non-absorbable suture material like nylon, the dermal layer should…
Horizontal Mattress Sutures
What: Horizontal mattress suturing is a fairly useful back-pocket trick to have in your repair arsenal. It’s most useful for high tension wounds especially when the edges are fragile or frayed. When: Truth told, I don’t personally use these sutures often for primary repair, as they don’t create as meticulous of wound edge apposition as…
The Corner Stitch
More formally known as the half-buried horizontal mattress suture, the corner stitch is an invaluable technique for closure of stellate lacerations. It is most suitable for “Y” shaped lacerations with a flap edge, but variations can also be employed for “V” and “X” shaped lacerations. When employed, the corner stitch should be placed first in…
Surgeon’s Knot
The Surgeon’s knot, aka the “two-handed tie,” is a useful tool to master. In situations where you are tying under tension or where better control of the suture is required (compared with the instrument tie method), understanding how to make a surgeon’s knot can be invaluable. The video above uses slow motion, multiple angles, and…
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