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Aesthetic Outcome of Tie-over Bolster Application in Surgical Wounds

NCT05758168 · Status: RECRUITING · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 60

Last updated 2026-04-13

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

When patients have surgery on the head and face, stitches are the standard way to close the wound. Wounds always result in a scar, but doctors are always looking for ways to reduce scarring. Several studies have been done to test ways to close wounds that reduce scarring. One idea is to reduce the tension around the cut. One way to reduce tension is to stitch a small piece of a special gauze over the top of the regular stitches. This procedure is called a "tie-over bolster dressing." As the name implies, this extra dressing "bolsters" the wound closure so that the skin on each side of the cut stays in place.

The bolster dressing procedure has been used in the past in special cases, such as when skin grafts are necessary. The bolster dressing helps the skin graft heal by making sure the graft stays exactly in place. Keeping the wound stable with a bolster dressing also reduces bleeding under the wound. For non-grafted wounds, the bolster dressing procedure has not normally been used, and has not been well-studied. In this study the whole wound will be stitched normally and then the bolster dressing will be applied over half of the wound. This will allow us to see if the side with the bolster dressing heals with less scarring.

Conditions

  • Scarring

Interventions

PROCEDURE

Addition of Tie-Over Bolster Dressing

Bolster will be sutured into place using peripheral non-absorbable anchoring sutures.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • University of California, Davis

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Daniel Eisen, MD · University of California, Davis - Dermatology

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
OTHER
Masking
SINGLE
Model
FACTORIAL

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2023-10-10
Primary Completion
2026-02-25
Completion
2026-06-01

Countries

  • United States

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT05758168 on ClinicalTrials.gov