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Case Reports
. 2023 Jun 20;10(1):2222807.
doi: 10.1080/23320885.2023.2222807. eCollection 2023.

Inflammatory reaction to suture materials after flexor tendon repair. A retrospective study of 594 patients

Marianne Arner  1   2 , Linda Unge  3 , Mikael A Franko  2 , Jonas Svingen  1   2
Affiliations
Case Reports

Inflammatory reaction to suture materials after flexor tendon repair. A retrospective study of 594 patients

Marianne Arner et al. Case Reports Plast Surg Hand Surg. .

Abstract

We report granuloma formation after using FiberWire® for flexor tendon repairs. Four subcutaneous granulomas were identified in 115 patients with FiberWire® core sutures, none in 426 with braided polyester. Foreign body reactions were found in the granuloma cases. We suggest early suture removal if this specific complication is encountered.

Keywords: FiberLoop®; FiberWire®; complications; flexor tendon repair; granuloma; suture material.

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Conflict of interest statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Number of patients operated per year using the different core suture materials. Observe that the inclusion period started in December 2012 and ended on 30 June 2019.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Patient number 2 in Table 2 operated with tendon repair two days after injury using 4-0 FiberLoop® sutures. After seven months, he presented with a gradually increasing volar non-tender nodule. After skin incision, a cystic granuloma was found surrounding the suture material.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Pathological examination (patient 2) of the granulomatous material showed a pronounced inflammatory foreign body reaction. Bacterial cultures showed growth of Staphylococcus aureus, sensitive to isoxazolyl penicillin. Postoperatively, the patient was treated with oral flucloxacillin for one week.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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