Comparison of Continuous and Interrupted Suturing Techniques in Ventricular Septal Defect Closure

Background: Our goal is to evaluate postoperative outcomes of continuous versus interrupted suturing techniques in ventricular septal defect (VSD) closure surgery. Methods: The study included 286 patients with isolated VSD who underwent VSD closure surgery between June 2010 and April 2017. VSD closure was performed by using the interrupted suturing technique in group 1 (n = 74, 25.9%) and the continuous suturing technique in group 2 (n = 212, 74.1%). The groups were compared in terms of mortality and rates of clinical morbidities such as infection and complete atrioventricular (AV) block. Results: Early mortality occurred in 3 cases in group 1 (4.0%) and 5 cases in group 2 (2.3%). There was no late mortality in either group. One patient from both groups required extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) at postoperative 48 hours. Five patients in group 1 (6.8%) and 11 patients in group 2 (5.2%) developed complete AV block postoperatively and received permanent pacemaker implants. Conclusion: Complication rates were similar between the patient groups operated on by using continuous and interrupted suturing techniques in our study, suggesting that neither technique is superior for VSD closure surgery.