Distance of insertion points in a mattress suture from the wound margin for ideal primary closure in alveolar mucosa: an in vitro experimental study

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to determine how the distance of the near insertion points in a vertical mattress suture from the wound margin influences the pattern of primary closure in an in vitro experimental model. METHODS: Pairs of 180 porcine gingival and alveolar mucosa samples were harvested from 90 pig jaws and fixed to a specially designed model. A vertical mattress suture was performed with the near insertion point at 3 different distances from the wound margin (1-, 3-, and 5-mm) on both the gingival and mucosal samples (6 groups; n=30 for each group). The margin discrepancy and the presence of epithelium between the wound margins were measured on histologic slides. RESULTS: The margin discrepancy decreased significantly as the near insertion point became closer to the wound margin both in mucosal tissue (0.241±0.169 mm, 0.945±0.497 mm, and 1.306±0.773 mm for the 1-, 3-, and 5-mm groups, respectively) and in gingival tissue (0.373±0.304 mm, 0.698±0.431 mm, and 0.713±0.691 mm, respectively). The frequency of complications of wound margin adaptation reduced as the distance of the near insertion point from the wound margin decreased both in the mucosal and gingival tissues. CONCLUSIONS: Placing the near insertion point close to the wound margin enhances the precision of wound margin approximation/adaptation using a vertical mattress suture.