Abstract
Objectives: Octyl-2-cyanoacrylate (Dermabond) is a soft tissue adhesive that has been approved for topical use to close traumatic lacerations and surgical incisions. We review paediatric and adult human studies that compared octyl-2-cyanoacrylate with conventional closure techniques in a variety of wounds.
Methods: Medline were searched using a combination of ‘tissue adhesives’, ‘cyanoacrylates’, ‘sutures’, ‘surgical staplers’ and ‘surgical tape’ for paediatric and adult studies comparing skin adhesives with other methods of wound closure. A review was performed using search results screened using predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Results: We found and summarized 17 studies comparing octyl-2-cyanoacrylate skin glue to conventional methods of skin closure.
Conclusions: Octyl-2-cyanoacrylate skin adhesive produces similar cosmetic results to sutures and other current wound closure techniques while being cost effective, quick and easy to use. Studies suggest that it may be a preferable alternative to sutures.