Purpose: Octyl-2-cyanoacrylate Dermabond, Ethicon, Inc., Sommerville, New Jersey is a synthetic tissue adhesive that has recently been used for skin closure in the treatment of minor lacerations. We assess its effectiveness as a sole dressing after open pediatric urological procedures.
Materials and methods: Between February and August 2003 we prospectively evaluated patients undergoing extragenital open and laparoscopic pediatric urological procedures at our institution. All open incisions were closed in layers using a final layer of self-absorbing subcuticular stitches for the skin before applying Dermabond only at the skin level. In laparoscopic cases Dermabond alone was applied to port sites (3 mm or less) and instrument sites without any sutures beneath the skin. No adjuvant occlusive dressings were applied to any of these wounds. All patients were allowed to bathe and return to activity immediately postoperatively.
Results: During the study period 146 patients with 200 incisions were identified (open 146, laparoscopy 54). Of these children 103 (142 incisions) returned for followup during the period of study with only 1 complication identified. This 6-month-old child presented the evening of surgery with omental prolapse through the umbilical port (3 mm port) requiring urgent closure. In no case was there an appreciable healing problem on surgeon or parental examination and no wound infections occurred.
Conclusions: Dermabond alone provides a simple coverage for a myriad of pediatric urological surgical wounds. Early bathing and return to activity do not appear to impact negatively on wound healing when a simple skin barrier is used in place of standard dressings.