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Correspondence
June 2010

Effect of Stitch Length on Wound Complications—Reply

Author Affiliations

Author Affiliations: Department of Surgery, Sundsvall Hospital, Sundsvall, Sweden (Drs Millbourn and Cengiz); and Department of Surgery and Perioperative Sciences, Ume[[aring]] University, Ume[[aring]], Sweden (Dr Israelsson).

Arch Surg. 2010;145(6):599-600. doi:10.1001/archsurg.2010.79

In reply

The aim of our clinical trial was to investigate if closure of midline incisions with an SL:WL ratio of at least 4 should be done with small or large tissue bites. The rate of both wound infection and incisional hernia was then lower with small tissue bites.1 Experimental findings of a higher tissue breaking strength with small tissue bites compared with large bites certainly offer an explanation for the lower rate of incisional hernia.2,3

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