Aesthetic Outcome of Complex Linear Closure vs Second Intention Healing: Below the Knee

Launched by UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, DAVIS · Sep 29, 2021

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This study at the University of California, Davis is testing which wound-healing method gives a nicer-looking scar after skin surgery below the knee. It’s a randomized, evaluator-blinded trial, meaning people are assigned by chance to one of two options and careful observers who rate the scars don’t know which method was used. One group will have the wound closed with two layers of sutures (complex linear closure); the other group will have no sutures and the wound will heal on its own (second intention healing). About 172 adults are planned to join.

If you participate, you’d be 18 or older, able to consent, and scheduled for a below-knee skin procedure with a scar of at least 1 cm. You’ll be followed over 3 to 12 months with assessments of scar appearance using a standard scar rating scale (POSAS) and a measurement of scar width, plus checks for any complications (like infection or wound reopening) and a quality-of-life questionnaire. The main goal is to see which method yields a more cosmetic scar, while also noting safety and how the scar affects daily life. The trial is currently enrolling by invitation and is expected to continue through 2030 at UC Davis in Sacramento.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • 18 years of age or older
• • Able to give informed consent themselves
• • Patient scheduled for cutaneous surgical procedure below the knee with a lesion excision diameter of at least 1 cm.
• • Willing to return for follow up visit
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • Incarceration
• • Under 18 years of age
• • Pregnant Women