Superglue wound closure tutorial

J

Jim malone

Joined
May 25, 2007
Messages
1,157
There have been a lot of questions in the past about the use of superglue, or cyanoacrylate glue to close a wound, and how to do it.
Because i use superglue a lot with deeper cuts i thought about making a tutorial when it happend again.

And i had this opportunity today.

After receiving a anticipated package, i decided to open it with my Spydero Swick.
Of course I zipped thru the plastic like butter and made a 2cm wide cut, about 0.5 cm deep.



Luckily it wasn’t a deep cut, nor did it cut tendons (I believe), so I decided to make a quick tutorial because I had all the stuff I needed at hand.
First I closed the wound flap with thumb pressure to stop the bleeding.
Under normally conditions it good to letting a wound bleed for a while to bleed out possible dirt.
Then I took my hand sanitizer spray that contains 75% alcohol. I opened the wound up and sprayed alcohol inside and outside profusely to get rid of any bacteria.



I repeated this a few times.
Then I took my Loctite Cyanoacrylate glue tube.
I used Loctite 401 that has a thicker consistency ( not water like) to avoid spilling the glue.
I opened up the wound again and soaked up the remaining blood with a clean towel. The sprayed some more alcohol and applied the glue inside the skinflap.



Now comes the tricky part. You need to press down the skin flap to glue it together without gluing your pressure finger to your wound.



I sometimes use a q-tip with the head removed to push the skin together.
I then sprayed some more alcohol on the closed wound to make a semi sterile environment.
Then I encapsulated the wound with a glue dome, to make it airtight.



After the glue was hardened I checked for any leaks



I used a flexible “compeed” bandage to put pressure on the wound and to close it of from possible contamination.



I opened up the package and found inside my long awaited book titled “contemporary knife targeting by Michael Janich! :D



My daughter just walked in and said "what's wrong with your finger?"
i replied "i cut it"
She replied "did you glue it?" :D
 
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So you cut yourself while opening a package containing a book about how to cut people. :D

Nice home surgery! I keep superglue in my first aid kit and use it pretty often. A little bit on a ruptured blister works pretty well.
 
ironic on the book:rolleyes: which is a great book btw. clears up many misconceptions printed in WW2 manuals
 
Not a fan of glue for wound closure. Direct pressure is the best way. Clean her up, bandage, good to go. I know alot of people use this method, but I cant get behind it......No offense meant btw...Just never understood this tx....

If you do use this method, just be aware of the fact that for small lacs, its ok, but for anything deep, its not a good idea.
 
I know direct pressure is the best way to close a small cut, and the only way to close a deep cut untill you reach the hospital to get stitched. Especially when you suspect that tendons might be cut it's always good to check first to see if you don't see any white tendons. This is for me one method to treat cuts that don't need secondary stitching inside the wound and for cuts that don't pose a cosmetic problem.
But my experience with the use of only pressure is that the cut always opens back up after a few hours and i'll start to bleed on stuff without me noticing it. For me this works best, and it's my decision, other peeple might use the old school technique of cauterization, or go to a plastic surgeon for every scuff. It's all about common sense. When in doubt go to the hospital.
 
Jim malone said:
I know direct pressure is the best way to close a small cut, and the only way to close a deep cut untill you reach the hospital to get stitched. Especially when you suspect that tendons might be cut it's always good to check first to see if you don't see any white tendons. This is for me one method to treat cuts that don't need secondary stitching inside the wound and for cuts that don't pose a cosmetic problem.
But my experience with the use of only pressure is that the cut always opens back up after a few hours and i'll start to bleed on stuff without me noticing it. For me this works best, and it's my decision, other peeple might use the old school technique of cauterization, or go to a plastic surgeon for every scuff. It's all about common sense. When in doubt go to the hospital.
Click to expand...

I never said its not your decision bro.....Hack it off if ya want. Im just stating my point from many years of emergancy medical experiance, and many years working ambulance. Just didnt want avg joe to read this thread w/o knowing both sides of the coin. Just tryin to help....
 
Being a Maker i have had some deep cuts,tried super gluing one once before,and boy did it sting,was worse than the cut :eek:

Does the Stuff your using not Sting ?

Bernie
 
I was always curious about getting superglue in an open wound. I knew a lot of people did it, but haven't ever done it myself.
 
i tend to stick with liquid bandage for deeper cuts topped off with a bandaid
 
I was a medic in the military, but I never used the glue method, though I do think it's an interesting approach. During survival training I lacerated myself pretty good, probably required stitches in my forearm. I brought both sides together and held it with duct tape. It bled for a bit, but eventually coagulated. Not much more could be done with minimal supplies, but it worked out for the next week.

thanks for your time.

Jeff
 
KB1SYV said:
I was a medic in the military, but I never used the glue method, though I do think it's an interesting approach. During survival training I lacerated myself pretty good, probably required stitches in my forearm. I brought both sides together and held it with duct tape. It bled for a bit, but eventually coagulated. Not much more could be done with minimal supplies, but it worked out for the next week.

thanks for your time.

Jeff
Click to expand...

Thats what i always do,dont bother cleaning it,just get it together asap,and duck tape or masking tape it up

Bernie
 
if you want glue that DOES NOT sting, use HOT STUFF. (available at lee valley tools.)

great stuff for lacerations. Clean wound, pour glue, let set, done. Get up and go
 
Man that stuff is poison, unless you use the stuff spedificly for that purpose, i personally would never put that stuff on a cut unless my life depended on it like nicked an artery or something like that... just my opinon
 
the super thin stuff is great for paper cuts, the thicker mixes are good for gapers (big cuts)
 
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