An international clinician survey CompAring Nonabsorbable Vs. Absorbable sutures for Skin surgery: the CANVAS study

Skin lesion excision is performed frequently, ¹ and the clinical ² and health economic burdens ³ are increasing commensurate with skin cancer incidence. ⁴ , ⁵Absorbable sutures (AS), including rapidly absorbable sutures or nonabsorbable sutures (NAS), can be used for epidermal closure following excisional skin surgery. There is low‐quality evidence supporting suture choice in this circumstance, ⁶ which may be influenced by various factors, including clinician/patient preference, access to suture removal, anatomical site, cosmesis, complication risk and cost. The CANVAS clinician survey assessed current opinions on suture use in the UK/Republic of Ireland and Australia/New Zealand as part of the feasibility work for a randomized controlled trial (RCT) comparing AS and NAS.