Cyanoacrylate tissue adhesive or silk suture for closure of surgical wound following removal of an impacted mandibular third molar: A randomized controlled study

Aim: The aim of the study was to compare postoperative sequelae and wound healing outcome following closure of surgical wound with either cyanoacrylate tissue adhesive or silk suture. Methods: Subjects with mesio-angularly impacted mandibular third molar were allocated randomly into 2 equal groups. The control group had wound closure with silk suture and study group with cyanoacrylate tissue adhesive. Subjects were followed up for 7 postoperative days. Postoperative pain, swelling, trismus, bleeding, wound dehiscence and wound infection were evaluated. Results: Sixty subjects in each group completed the study. No significant difference was observed in the mean postoperative pain, swelling, trismus, wound dehiscence and infection between the 2 groups. There was a statistically significant difference in postoperative bleeding between the 2 groups on postoperative day 1, with more bleeding in the control group. Conclusions: This study shows that cyanoacrylate tissue adhesive compares favourably with silk suture as a wound closure material. In addition, cyanoacrylate tissue adhesive seems to have beneficial haemostatic effect on postoperative bleeding. (C) 2018 European Association for Cranio-Maxillo-Facial Surgery. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.