Skin Incision Key Points (Scalpel)
- Plan your incision!
- Clip fur at least 15cm wide of incision
- Permanent marker prior to prep or sterile marker after draping (if needed)
- If possible, follow lines of tension (final closed incision will be on/parallel to a line of tension)
- Do not create a “biological tourniquet” with closure; it is better to leave it open a centimeter or so…it is not a “failure” it is a “rational plan”.
- Hold blade perpendicular to, not oblique to, the skin surface
- Exert enough, but not too much, pressure
- Use fingers to stabilize/retract the skin perpendicular to incision line, i.e. create tension that the blade “splits”.
- Advance fingers in stages with blade stopped/in contact with skin
- Using tension, create and watch the gapping of the incision as you cut—adjust pressure every millimeter as you go
- Pencil grip—incisions < 3 cm
- Finger tip grip—long incisions
- Do not “saw” with a scalpel; do not repeatedly pickup blade.
- Always brace hand when making a stab incision (“too deep” may be “too bad”)
Tissue handling
- Do not touch tissue unless necessary.
- Do not pickup tissue unless necessary.
- Use thumb forceps on acellular tissue preferentially (fascia vs. skin).
- Sharp dissection is less traumatic than blunt (blade < scissors < blunt dissection < gauze/finger dissection).
- Hemorrhage higher with sharp dissection (blade > scissors > blunt dissection > gauze/finger dissection).
- Blot with gauze—DO NOT wipe.
- Use damp gauze (saline…ring out)
Subcutaneous dissection
- Blade—one layer at a time; use fingers to spread perpendicular to incision, create tension.
- Scissors
- Scissor cut: typical cutting motion; short incisions; do not close completely with each cut; use tips only.
- Push cut: i.e. running cut, like in material/paper; only have small opening in scissor blades; long incisions; less traumatic
- Blunt dissection: increases caution in highly vascular/nervous/vital areas; insert closed–> open, small gap–> remove open –> close and repeat, many little spreads vs. one huge spread.
Subcutaneous closure
- Goal to reduce dead space with minimum of foreign material (suture).
- Bury knots routinely.
- Simple interrupted pattern if tension relieving.
- Simple continuous / ”Lembert” if minimal tension.
- Tack to underlying layer to avoid pocket formation.
Skin closure
- Avoid crushing skin; do not “oppose” needle resistance with thumb forceps pinching skin.
- Needle passes easier when skin under tension
- Immobilize with forceps on SQ pulling away from cut surface
- Immobilize with fingers parallel to incision
- Intradermal/subcuticular layer
- Bury knot 5-10 mm from end of incision
- Start pattern at the beginning of incision (one technique—dive under knot and come out at very beginning in dermis)
- Pop needle in dermis, rotate through arc of needle, watch for needle bulge, “whittle” it around until bulge is within dermis, pop out of dermis
- Dove tail to avoid gapping
- Smaller bites (less needle arc) in thinner skin to avoid bunching appearance
Benefits:
No suture tract through skin (less bacterial access to incision; more cosmetic)
Better incision seal (less bacterial access to incision; more cosmetic)
Potentially no suture removal
- Skin sutures
- 2/3 thickness of dermis exact apposition (better seal, more cosmetic)
- Use smallest size suture appropriate (3-0 or 4-0 most dogs/cat wounds)
- Use monofilament (nylon, prolene, surgilene, steel) or coated multifilament suture (Vetafil, Braunamid, Supramid) for skin (exception—silk on eyelids +/- ok; remove 5-7d)