Simple Interrupted (Lecture and Demo)
Simple Interrupted Lecture
Key Points
The simple interrupted stitch is by far the most common stitch in use in primary wound closure settings like ED, provider offices, and convenient care. Knowing this technique is necessary for not only this stitch, but since this stitch is the beginning of many other techniques including running (except you don't cut off both tails, just the non-needled end for those).
Benefits: It will provide a unique wound approximation that has no relationship to the stitches around it, so if one falls apart, the rest are not going to fall apart like they might with a running stitch. Also, with practice, good symmetry can be obtained by the concept of "divide and conquer" by starting in the middle and dividing until the wound is evenly sutured and approximated.
Drawbacks: It takes a knot for each stitch placed and because of this, it's not as fast as running techniques.
Gold Nugget: Do your first stitch to close each apex (on each side of the wound) first to make it less likely to get a "dogear" at the end and also visually you can appreciate the midway point better. You can then always remove that stitch and adjust as necessary without being stuck extending your wound or removing tissue to fix a dogear.