Basic Characteristics of Wound Healing after Suturing

A surgical wound never attains the same cutaneous tensile strength as of normal uncut skin. Two weeks after suturing, 3-5% of original strength will be achieved by a surgical wound. By the end of third week, 20% of the ultimate wound strength is achieved, and by one month only 50% of wound strength is attained. All sutures are foreign bodies and produce an inflammatory response in the host dermis. Peak inflammatory response is seen between second and seventh day with abundance of polymorphonuclear leukocytes, lymphocytes, and large monocytes in dermis.[3] Between the third and eighth day, the epithelial cells deeply invade the suture tracts.