Surgical staples can be used after an operation or trauma to close the skin wound instead of sutures or adhesives. You can discuss the type of closure used in your operation with your physician prior to the surgery; however, sometimes the location or type of surgery will dictate what type of closure is used.
Ease of Use
Staple insertion is completed with a staple gun and is not dependent upon the physician's skill or technique. Surgical staples are easy to insert in a variety of settings such as post-operative sites, head wounds, small anastomoses such as intestinal closures, and most fairly straight lines of incision. Minimal skill or personal technique is needed to operate the staple gun.
Rapid Insertion
Many patients have underlying medical conditions, such as heart or lung disease, that requires they come off of anesthesia more rapidly. In such cases, staples provide the advantage of speedy insertion, shaving lifesaving minutes off of the operation time. The efficiency of placing staples is the main reason that they are used in most head wounds or traumas in emergency rooms, as closing the wounds fast saves blood loss.
Dependability
Very rarely does a staple malfunction or fall out of the skin. Surgical staples remain in place usually half the time that traditional sutures would. Depending on your doctor's instruction some staples can be removed as early as 10 days after surgery. Staples do not loosen or untie like sutures.
Reduce Skin Allergies
Most surgical staples are constructed from stainless steel. An allergy to steel is highly unlikely, so those with staples will not suffer from the itching and redness that can accompany other types of closures. Although itching is a normal part of the healing process, the skin should not itch around the staple itself.
Decreased Infections
Surgical wound infections are the most common post-operative complication notes Paula DeJohn at Hospitals & Health Networks. When staples are inserted, via a sterile staple gun, there is minimal room for human error that could alter the integrity or the cleanliness of the staple, as opposed to sutures which must be pulled through the skin, allowing the site to become compromised. No wound infection means a shorter hospital stay and a faster recovery time.
