Closure of the rectus sheath with a continuous looped suture and the skin with staples in dogs: speed, safety, and costs compared to closure of the rectus sheath with interrupted sutures and the skin with a continuous subdermal suture

In dogs requiring a midline celiotomy, closure of the rectus sheath with a continuous polyglyconate looped suture and closure of the skin with stainless steel staples (group 1, 20 dogs) were compared with closure of the rectus sheath with interrupted polyglyconate sutures and closure of the skin with a continuous subdermal polyglactin suture (group 2, 20 dogs) with respect to speed, safety, and costs. The subcutis was closed with a continuous polyglactin suture in all dogs. The use of a looped suture saved 3.4 minutes and the use of staples saved 5.6 minutes. Total mean time saved for all layers was 7.7 minutes (38%). Wound healing was not significantly different between group 1 and group 2. There was one case of dehiscence of the rectus sheath in group 2 and two cases of wound infection in group 1. It was concluded that closing the rectus sheath with a continuous looped suture and the skin with staples is equally safe and significantly faster than closing the rectus sheath with simple interrupted sutures and the skin with a continuous subdermal suture. Additional costs were balanced by the reduction in surgery time.