Clinical Research Directory

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

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.

Multi-Institutional IMPACT Validation

The goal of this observational study is to validate a novel patient-reported outcome measure (PROM) for patients suffering maxillofacial trauma: The Integrated Modular Patient-Reported Outcome Assessment for Craniomaxillofacial Trauma (IMPACT). The primary question is: Are the IMPACT modules valid and reliable measures to study quality-of-life (QOL) in patients with maxillofacial trauma? Patients presenting for routine clinic follow-up for maxillofacial trauma will be invited to complete the IMPACT in addition to the 15 Dimension (15D) QOL survey as a control.