Abstract
Author(s): Mohamed I Taema and Nada Alayed*
Introduction: Episiotomy is one the most common surgical procedure that performed daily. Post-operative pain and wound healing are of great concern to the female.
Aim: To compare adhesive tape and continuous subcuticular suture for episiotomy repair after delivery as regard pain, operative time and wound infection. Design: prospective cohort comparative study.
Methods: One-hundred patients were equally divided into two groups. Group 1 patients delivered in one hospital, they underwent skin repair with adhesive tape, while group 2 are patients delivered in second hospital, and they underwent the episiotomy repair by continuous subcuticular suture. Primary outcome was Pain 6 and 12 hours postoperative and 1 week post-delivery using Wong-Baker faces pain rating scale. Skin closure time and wound infection were secondary outcomes.
Results: Statistically significant difference in pain after episiotomy repair in favor of the adhesive group (p-value <0.05) after 7 days. No statistically significant difference between both groups as regard skin closure time or wound infection.
Conclusion: Skin adhesive tape may be better to subcuticular suture in pain perception resulting from episiotomy repair after delivery.