Publication:

Economic aspect of tissue glue in thyroid surgeries

Background Tissue glue or adhesives are the recent advances in closure of the skin wound. They have been used as an alternative to the sutures, staples and plasters. They have been found to be cosmetically better compared to other modes of wound closure. Whether the tissue glues are economically feasible for routine use has to be found out. The aims and objectives of this study is to find out the cost-effectiveness of tissue glue in comparison with traditional suture technique in thyroid surgeries.

Methods This is a prospective study to find out the economic aspect of tissue glue in comparison with silk suture in fifty three patients who underwent thyroidectomy at Kasturba Medical College, Manipal.

Results The overall cost for tissue glue procedure was significantly less when compared to silk suture technique.

Conclusions Iso amyl-2-cyanoacrylate is excellent tissue glue. Though the initial cost of tissue glue is higher compared to silk sutures, the overall cost including the anaesthetic cost, hospital stay and reviews is considerably less. Thus we conclude that the tissue glue is economically cheaper compared to suture methods.