Indian journal of ophthalmology
August 31, 2026 · via Europe PMC
The use of Steri-strips™ and quilting sutures for periocular full-thickness skin grafts: Avoiding a Frost suture or bolster.
Wanas AM, Malhotra R.
AI summary — for doctors, generated from the abstract only
In a retrospective review of 70 periocular full-thickness skin graft procedures, using quilting sutures with Steri-strips instead of a traditional Frost suture or bolster achieved good functional and esthetic outcomes while reducing postoperative visit burden.
What was studied
A retrospective, noncomparative, single-center review of 67 patients (70 procedures) who underwent periocular full-thickness skin grafting secured with quilting sutures and Steri-strips (instead of a Frost suture or bolster), assessing functional outcomes (eyelid margin reflex distances, lagophthalmos) and esthetic outcomes via standardized photographs and a grading scale.
Key findings
- 67 patients (42 male, 25 female), mean age 69.7 years, underwent 70 procedures, with an average first postoperative visit at 14.2 days and an average of 1.2 clinical visits in the first 6 weeks.
- Improvement in MRD1 (margin reflex distance for upper eyelid) was 1.7 mm (P = 0.002).
- Improvement in MRD2 (lower eyelid) was 1.9 mm, though the exact p-value for this specific measure was not legible in the provided abstract text.
Clinical relevance
The findings suggest this technique may be a less resource-intensive alternative to Frost sutures or bolster dressings for periocular skin grafts, achieving functional and esthetic improvement with fewer early postoperative visits, which may be relevant to surgical planning for periocular reconstruction.
Who should care
Limitations
This was a retrospective, noncomparative, single-center case series without a direct comparison group using traditional Frost sutures/bolsters, limiting conclusions about relative superiority.
A quilting-suture-and-Steri-strip technique for periocular skin grafts gave good outcomes while needing fewer early follow-up visits than traditional bolster methods.
This is an AI-generated summary of the published abstract, not a clinical recommendation. It may not reflect the full text or subsequent updates — verify against the original source before acting on it.
Abstract
Purpose
To assess the early complications and functional and esthetic outcomes of using quilting sutures and Steri-strips for full-thickness skin grafts (FTSGs) in the periocular region.
Methods
A retrospective, noncomparative, single-center review of patients who underwent FTSG with quilting sutures and Steri-strips splinting. Functional outcomes were assessed using MRD1 (margin reflex distance) and lagophthalmos on gentle closure for upper eyelid grafts, and MRD2 for lower eyelid grafts. Esthetic outcomes were determined using standardized photographs and a specific grading scale for eyelid FTSGs.
Results
Our study included 67 patients (males: 42, females: 25) who underwent 70 FTSG procedures, with a mean age of 69.7 years (range: 18-96). The average initial postoperative visit was at 14.2 days, and patients had an average of 1.2 clinical visits in the first 6 weeks. The improvements in MRD1, MRD2, and lagophthalmos were 1.7 mm (P = 0.002), 1.9 mm (P < 0.001), and 2.5 mm (P = 0.015), respectively. Esthetic outcomes were graded as "perfect" to "good" in 52 (74%) patients for graft color and edge, 50 (71.4%) for graft contour, and 64 (91.4%) for graft size and lid margin contour. Graft survival was 98.6%. The complication rate was 14.3%, with a mean follow-up of 13 months (range: 3-50).
Conclusion
Various techniques are described in the literature with good results, some requiring extra costs, theater time, or clinical visits. Our technique replaces Frost sutures and bolsters, minimizing immediate postoperative visits while achieving high graft success with favorable functional and esthetic outcomes.
DOI
10.4103/ijo.ijo_578_26
PMID
42670269
Research metadata (titles, abstracts, authors, publication dates) is sourced from Europe PMC, which aggregates content from PubMed/MEDLINE, PubMed Central, and other providers under the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM/NCBI). NLM does not claim copyright on abstracts; the original journal publishers or authors may hold rights to the full articles. AI-generated summaries are derived only from the abstract, never the full text, and are always labeled as AI-generated.
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