A skin suture for foot and ankle surgery.

Severe swelling and skin necrosis are not uncommon following foot and ankle surgery, particularly trauma surgeries. A skin suture technique is presented that has the advantages of being simple, providing good skin eversion and apposition with minimal tension and risk of ischemia, and being easy to remove. The suture technique has been used by the authors for the past 2 years on all foot and ankle trauma and reconstructive cases in which severe swelling was anticipated. There have been no instances of skin necrosis, significant epidermolysis, or dehiscence, and the appearance of the scar is acceptable.