Skin incision skewness, incision length on both sides of the midline and patient's perception of the scar after cesarean section will be compared between the following two groups: (1) Drawing of an incision line prior to skin incision and (2) no drawing of an incision line.
Some aspects of the surgical techniques employed during cesarean section have already been evaluated in regards to possible improvements of cosmetic outcome, such as the use of different skin closure materials or whether subcutaneous fat suture closure leads to better results than non-closure. Another point to be considered is the skewness of the scar. Many surgeons make the skin incision based on their experience without prior measurement and drawing of an incision line. However, following a predefined incision line may reduce the rate of skew incisions. Therefore, this study aims to compare these two approaches to the skin incision. Participating women will be recruited at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of the Medical University of Vienna. They will be included into the study after written informed consent and will be randomized into one of the two groups (drawing of an incision line prior to skin incision versus no drawing of an incision line) on the day of cesarean section. Skewness of the skin incision in each group will be assessed after cesarean section. Furthermore, it will be determined whether there are any differences in the incision length on both sides of an imaginary line from the umbilicus to the clitoris between these two techniques. Additionally, patient's perception of the scar before discharge from hospital will be assessed.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE
Enrollment
86
Drawing of an incision line prior to skin incision at cesarean section
Medical University Vienna
Vienna, Austria
RECRUITINGSkin incision skewness
Skewness of the incision will be assessed using digital photos and an appropriate software.
Time frame: 10 minutes (from a photograph taken at the end of the operation)
Incision length on both sides of the midline
The length will be measured in cm.
Time frame: 2 minutes (1 minute for measurement at the end of the operation and 1 minute postoperatively from a photo taken at the end of the operation)
Patient's perception of the scar
Skewness and length of the scar are rated by the patient.
Time frame: 1 minute (before discharge from hospital)
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