Descriptions of a wide range of suture patterns can be found in any good medical or veterinary textbook of surgery. The different techniques are designed to cope with different aspects of surgery. For many surgical procedures, the choice can be narrowed down to:
- Interrupted stitch (simple interrupted)
- horizontal mattress
- Continuous stitch (simple continuous)
- subcuticular pattern
Using an interrupted pattern is recommended if the species in question may chew or gnaw at the sutures. It is preferable for one suture to be removed from an interrupted pattern rather than the length of the wound opening as the suture unravels from a continuous pattern!
If skin closure in rodents and rabbits, especially rats, is contemplated then a subcuticular pattern is often the best choice as these are much less likely to be removed by the animal. Subcuticular closure is a very effective technique for use in any small animal. Rodents often remove sutures either as part of normal grooming behaviour or because the sutures have been tied too tightly and are painful or irritating.
If a body cavity (e.g. abdomen) has been opened during surgery, closure of the incisions should take place in at least two layers. In small/lean animals muscle and skin are closed as two separate layers. In large/fat animals it is often necessary to close as three separate layers; muscle, subcutaneous tissue and fat (together) and skin. The muscle layer should be closed using an interrupted suture pattern. This is an especially important rule to observe in rodents and rabbits, because if they remove their skin sutures an interrupted suture pattern placed in the muscle layer will prevent them, or at least delay the rate at which they can re-open their laparotomy incision and eviscerate themselves. This makes it much more likely that the animal will be found in time to resolve the situation with a lower risk of complications or without the need for euthanasia. Closing subcutaneous tissue and fat reduces dead space for fluid accumulation, thus reducing the risk of post-operative complications.