Comparison of Knotless Barbed Suture and Standard Suture in Knee Replacement Patients

Barbed suture use has been gaining increased acceptance and has been reported to offer potential advantages in wound closure of hip and knee replacement surgeries.

The goal of this study is to compare joint replacement patient outcomes who receive a knotless barbed suture versus a traditional suture (randomized into two arms). The traditional suture used at our joint replacement program is defined as: interrupted sutures to close the retinaculum followed by running monocryl sutures for skin closure. Both knotless barbed suture and the traditional sutures have similar suture size.

Patient outcomes examined will be patient range of motion (recorded daily) and complications with wound healing (evaluated periodically in-person at post-operative visits).

Secondary outcomes examined will include wound drainage on dressings by surface area and weight, as well as the wound cosmesis and perceived presence of subcutaneous surgical knots.

Inclusion Criteria:

• primary joint replacement

Exclusion Criteria:

• no prior joint surgery
• no infection