Continuous vs interrupted sutures for the repair of episiotomy: A comparative study

Introduction: Episiotomy is a surgical increase of the perineum made to increase the vulval outlet during childbirth. 85% of women who have a spontaneous vaginal birth will have some form of perineal trauma. Material and methods :A randomized trial of patients who will give birth in KIMS Hospital, Trivandrun, Kerala, South India. Hundred pregnant women have an Episiotomy in the second stage of labour in KIMS Hospital are randomly allocated into two groups one group with continuous Episiotomy sutures and another with interrupted sutures. The results are tabulated and analysed by chi square test. Results: VAS score of 3 and above seen in 2% in continuous group and 32% in interrupted group on third postnatal day, highly significant. Conclusion : Continuous suturing for the repair of Episiotomy is better than interrupted suturing for short term period, in terms of Less time required for repair, Less number of packets of suture material used ,Less perineal pain on postnatal day 1 , 2 ,and 3 ,Less number of analgesic tablets used to control pain ,Low perineal trauma scoring