Patient Satisfaction and Cosmetic Outcomes in Adhesive Strip Versus Suture Repair for Simple Facial Lacerations

Patient Satisfaction and Cosmetic Outcomes in Adhesive Strip Versus Suture Repair for Simple Facial Lacerations: A Randomized Controlled Trial

There are a variety of techniques utilized to close lacerations, including but not limited to, traditional sutures, staples, adhesive strips, and skin glue. While closing open wounds and preventing infection are the primary goals of laceration repair, physicians are also concerned with minimizing scar formation and providing the best cosmetic outcomes for the patient. Specifically, the skin on the face is a sensitive area where cosmetic outcome is of high importance, and several laceration repair techniques have been devised for closing facial wounds.

Sutures have traditionally been used to close wounds in various types of tissue, and it is still very commonly used in the clinical setting. Adhesive strips (also known under the brand names of Steri-Strips, Curi-strips, Nichi-Strips, and Suture Strips) are another method to repair lacerations superficially. Due to their superficial application and ease of use, adhesive strips may help minimize scar formation and may result in less pain and complications for the patient when compared to conventional sutures.

Therefore, the aim of this study is to determine whether repair of small, simple facial lacerations with adhesive strips results in better patient experiences and better cosmetic outcomes than sutures. The investigators hypothesize that wounds repaired with adhesive strip will have higher patient satisfaction scores and better cosmetic outcomes.

Study Overview

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Conditions: Facial Laceration
• Intervention / Treatment: Procedure: Laceration repair with sutures; Device: Laceration repair with adhesive strips

Detailed Description

This is a prospective, single-blinded, randomized controlled trial taking place in a single center. Patients will be identified in the emergency room as they present to the hospital and meet eligibility criteria. Following informed consent, patients will be randomized in a 1:1 ratio to either the adhesive strip repair or the suture repair group. Randomization will be dictated by a validated online software utilizing the Wichmann-Hill random number generator. A password-protected randomization database that is only accessible to the study team will be utilized.

After randomization to their respective laceration repair group, patients will be surveyed by the study team to assess their experience, satisfaction, and pain scores during the laceration repair. Approximately two months after their initial laceration repair, the patients will be contacted securely via phone call or email to assess if they had any complications and to assess their satisfaction and cosmetic rating of their laceration scar. Additionally, the subjects will be instructed to take pictures and/or videos of their scar and send it securely to the study team via UCI Epic MyChart (or a HIPAA-compliant encrypted email if MyChart is unavailable). These photos and videos will be de-identified and stored securely on a password-encrypted folder where a blinded evaluator will score the scars with a validated scar assessment tool. Patients will be instructed to only take photos/videos of their scar area and not any other major areas of their face that can be identified. Following the conclusion of the study, all patient identifiers and photos/videos will be destroyed to preserve patient privacy.

All survey data will be collected and entered into a REDCap database. Data collection will include demographics, phone/email contact information, patient satisfaction scores with the laceration repair, patient pain scores, patient scar cosmetic rating, presence of complications, and patient responses to questions about their general experience during the laceration repair and healing time period.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 62
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Jeffry Nahmias, M.D.; Phone Number: 714-506-8076; Email: jnahmias@hs.uci.edu

Study Locations

• United States
  • California
    • Orange, California, United States, 92868
      • University of California Irvine
      • Contact: Jeffry Nahmias, M.D.; Email: jnahmias@hs.uci.edu
      • Principal Investigator: Jeffry Nahmias, M.D.

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• All adult (>18-years-old)
• Small (<2.5 cm) and simple facial lacerations requiring repair

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients less than 18 years old
• Pregnant females
• Incarcerated individuals

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Double

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Adhesive strip repair; In this arm, patients will have their facial laceration properly cleaned and repaired with adhesive strips.	Device: Laceration repair with adhesive strips; Repair of the patient's facial laceration with adhesive strips; Other Names: Steri-Strips; Adhesive strips; STERI-STRIP ANTIMICROBIAL SKIN CLOS
Experimental: Suture repair; In this arm, patients will have their facial laceration properly cleaned and repaired with sutures of any material.	Procedure: Laceration repair with sutures; Repair of the patient's facial laceration with sutures

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Patient pain score	Visual analogue scale (VAS) - 10-cm line representing a continuum from "no pain" to "worst pain imaginable"	Assessed immediately after the intervention
Patient's satisfaction and experience during laceration repair	Measured on a Likert-scale (very dissatisfied, dissatisfied, neutral, satisfied, very satisfied) and measured with a visual analogue scale (VAS) ("not satisfied" and to "fully satisfied")	Assessed immediately after the intervention
Patient's cosmetic score of the laceration immediately after repair	Measured on a visual analogue scale (VAS) - 100-mm visual analogue scale for cosmetic assessment of wound (0 = worst scar and 100 = best scar)	Assessed immediately after the intervention
Patient's cosmetic score of the laceration scar	Measured via the Patient and Observer Scar Assessment Scale (POSAS) - a validated cosmetic score assessment for wounds from the patient's perspective. Each item of the POSAS is rated on a 5-point score. The lowest score is '1', which corresponds to the situation of normal skin (i.e. normal pigmentation, no itching). Score 5 equals the largest difference from normal skin (i.e. the worst imaginable scar or sensation).	Assessed two months after the intervention
Evaluator's cosmetic score of the wound assessed from a photograph	Measured on the Stoney Brook Scar Evaluation Scale (SBSES) - a validated cosmetic score assessment of scars from the observer's perspective using a photograph. Scars are assigned either 0 or 1 point each for the presence or absence of the following: width greater than 2 mm, elevation or depression, discoloration, suture or staple marks, and overall poor appearance. A total cosmetic score is generated by adding the individual scores from each category ranging from 0 (worst) to 5 (best)	Assessed two months after the intervention

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Time to repair laceration	The amount of time lapsed in repairing the laceration	Assessed immediately after the intervention
Laceration/scar length and width	The length and width in centimeters of the subject's laceration/scar	Assessed immediately after the intervention and two months after the intervention
Complications during and/or after the repair	Complications during the procedure will be evaluated by the study team by retrieving data from the medical chart, observing the laceration repair in real time, or surveying the patient after the laceration repair. Post-procedural complications will be evaluated by following up with patients via phone call or secure email	Assessed immediately after the intervention and two months after the intervention

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of California, Irvine
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Jeffry Nahmias, M.D., University of California, Irvine

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): August 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): May 1, 2028
• Study Completion (Estimated): May 1, 2028

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: July 11, 2024
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 11, 2024
• First Posted (Actual): August 13, 2024

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): February 12, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 9, 2026
• Last Verified: February 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Laceration repair; Sutures; Cosmesis; Adhesive strips; Scar healing
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Pathologic Processes; Wounds and Injuries; Disease Attributes; Lacerations; Facies; Surgical Equipment; Equipment and Supplies; Surgical Fixation Devices; Sutures
• Other Study ID Numbers: 4338

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO
• IPD Plan Description: No plan to share IPD

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: Yes