Plus sutures for preventing surgical site infection

Plus sutures (Ethicon, Johnson & Johnson Medical) are a range of absorbable sutures that are either impregnated or coated with the antimicrobial triclosan. NICE medical technologies guidance recommend using Plus Sutures as part of a bundle of care to reduce surgical site infections. When compared with nontriclosan absorbable sutures, using Plus sutures results in a average cost saving of £13.62 per patient by reducing surgical site infections. Based on this NICE guidance, it seems reasonable to use Plus sutures for the majority of breast surgical wound closures as using these sutures results in a nearly 30% reduced risk of wound infections. This may be particularly applicable to implant based breast reconstruction and wound closure in high risk patients such as smokers, diabetics and those with a high BMI.

Classifications: Breast & Oncoplastic Surgery

Keywords: Sutures Surgical Site Infection/ SSI