Pediatric Nail-Bed Repair Study

TL;DRAbstract

Sir: We previously published a retrospective study of pediatric plastic surgery patients (n = 111) who underwent 6-0 Vicryl Rapide (Ethicon, Inc., Somerville, N.J.) nail-bed repairs with nail replacement/foil placement (replacement group, n = 51) versus repairs where the nail was discarded (discarded group, n = 60).1 There was a low overall complications rate (10.8 percent), which was greater in the nail replacement group (17.6 percent) than in the discarded group (5 percent) (p < 0.001). Of note, overall complications were primarily minor: delayed wound healing (7.2 percent), defined as unhealed within 2 weeks after repair; infection (3.6 percent) (defined as two or more of the following: cellulitis, pus, and malodor); persistent pain (2.7 percent); and overgranulation (1.8 percent).2 However, greater percentages of patients experienced delayed wound healing (11.7 percent versus 3.3 percent; p = 0.004) and infection (7.8 percent versus 0 percent; p < 0.0001) in the replacement group,

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