W-Plasty Improves Cosmetic Outcomes in Patients with Facial Lacerations

At 10 days and 6 months, scars looked significantly better with W-plasty than with simple closure.

W-plasty is a plastic surgery technique for closure of wounds that are not aligned with skin tension lines. It involves removing skin to create a zig-zag wound (a row of interlocking Ws), and then closing the wound by suturing the points to the indentations. In a retrospective observational study, investigators in Korea compared cosmetic outcomes with W-plasty and simple closure in patients with facial lacerations aligned ≥30° from skin tension lines. All wounds were closed in two layers, with 5-0 absorbable deep sutures and 6-0 superficial sutures that were removed after 5 days. The study was not randomized or blinded.

All procedures were performed in the emergency department by the same physician. The scar's cosmetic appearance was evaluat…

Reviewing Author

Daniel J. Pallin, MD, MPH

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardPortola Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Speaker’s BureauPeerView Institute for Medical Education

Grant/Research SupportAgency for Healthcare Research and Quality; CDC; NIH–National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences; NIH–National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID); NIH–NIAID–Antibacterial Resistance Leadership Group; Merck; Pfizer; Boehringer-Ingelheim; Shire; Portola Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Novartis; bioMérieux; Siemens; Rapid Pathogen Screening; Magnolia; Stago; Innovative Biosensors; Molecular Detection, Inc.; Dyax Corp.; Trius Pharmaceuticals

Daniel J. Pallin, MD, MPH

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardPortola Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Speaker’s BureauPeerView Institute for Medical Education

W-Plasty Improves Cosmetic Outcomes in Patients with Facial Lacerations

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Reviewing Author