ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION The requirement of any method of skin closure is to hold the skin edges in apposition for sufficient length of time to allow healing that results in the least noticeable scar. Ideally, no movement between skin edges should occur, and excessive tension on wound edges should be avoided. The simple repair can be utilized when a biopsy site or surgical wound can be approximated under little or no tension without undermining, when it is not favorable to place buried suture material in the wound, or in situations such as partial wound closures. The surgeon must know the properties of closure materials (Chapter 3), be able to select the proper suture for a particular use, and know the technique of suture placement (Chapter 18). This chapter will discuss the implementation of simple repairs for a variety of situations including skin biopsies, cyst and lipoma removal, and other surgical situations. When significant undermining is used to increase tissue movement and/or to reduce or distribute tension, or when one or multiple layers of subcuticular sutures are used, the repair may no longer be defined as simple, and it becomes intermediate or complex. In many cases, a small or intermediate sized defect under little or no tension may be repaired with a simple repair using a single layer of skin or intradermal sutures.
