An Absorbable Suture Versus a Non-absorbable Suture in Carpal Tunnel Release, a Randomized Controlled Trial (SUPER)

Kuopio University Hospital

Status: Active, not recruiting

Conditions: Median Nerve Entrapment; Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Treatments: Procedure: Surgical wound closed with a non-absorbable suture; Procedure: Surgical wound closed with an absorbable suture

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT05503719

KUH5203138

Details and patient eligibility

About

The study compares two widely used treatments in closing the wound after open carpal tunnel release surgery: absorbable and non-absorbable sutures. It is conducted as a randomized controlled trial, where the participants are divided into two research groups. The visual outcome of the scar will be evaluated a year after the surgery.

Full description

Absorbable sutures are more cost efficient and eliminate the need for suture removal both reducing costs and abolishing suture removal pain. We will study the difference in the visual outcome between the two groups. Based on former study the primary hypothesis is that there is no difference between the groups. The patients will evaluate their scars on a VAS-scale one year after the surgery. Secondarily we will focus on pain caused by the two sutures and take the suture removal pain into consideration. We expect therefore the non-absorbable suture to cause more pain in total. The evaluation will happen 2 weeks after the surgery by the patients.

Enrollment: 116 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion and exclusion criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• carpal tunnel syndrome diagnosed with electro near my-graphs
• symptoms typical of carpal tunnel syndrome
• referral to carpal tunnel release
• informed consent signed
• the ability to receive the virtual questionnaire via email and answer it
• the ability to understand and answer the Finnish questionnaires

Exclusion Criteria

• repeat surgery
• known allergy to suture materials
• ongoing systemic steroid treatment
• ongoing chemotherapy
• ongoing immunomodulatory treatment
• past hypertrophic or keloid scars or other severe disturbances in wound healing
• age under 18, pregnancy or breastfeeding

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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116 participants in 2 patient groups

Absorbable Suture

Experimental group

Description:

Surgical wounds of this arm will be closed with an absorbable suture.

Treatment:

Procedure: Surgical wound closed with an absorbable suture

Non-absorbable suture

Active Comparator group

Description:

Surgical wounds of this arm will be closed with a non-absorbable suture.

Treatment:

Procedure: Surgical wound closed with a non-absorbable suture