Six RCTs (n=1,617) were included.
All studies appear to have achieved effective randomisation.
For patients with any thickness of subcutaneous tissue, sutures significantly reduced wound complications in comparison with no sutures (RR 0.56, 95% CI: 0.36, 0.86; based on 3 RCTs with 875 patients). No statistically significant heterogeneity was detected (P=0.51). The results were similar after removing each study in turn.
For patients with subcutaneous tissue thickness of 2 cm or less, there was no significant difference between sutures and no sutures (RR 1.01, 95% CI: 0.46, 2.20; based on 2 RCTs with 181 patients). No statistically significant heterogeneity was detected (P=0.71).
For patients with subcutaneous tissue thickness greater than 2 cm, sutures significantly reduced wound complications in comparison with no sutures (RR 0.66, 95% CI: 0.48, 0.91; based on 5 RCTs with 887 patients). The NNT was 16.2. No statistically significant heterogeneity was detected (P=0.26).
There was no significant difference between sutures and no sutures for haematomas or wound infections (the results were reported).
Sutures significantly reduced seroma formation (RR 0.42, 95% CI: 0.24, 0.75; based on 4 RCTs with 852 patients). No statistically significant heterogeneity was detected (P=0.67).
The results were similar after removing each study in turn.