Sauna-bathing with sutures. A prospective and randomised study

Abstract

Background and Aims: Bathing in sauna is a Finnish habit with numerous beliefs and traditions. One belief has been that one is not allowed to go to sauna postoperatively with sutures. This belief is in practically every patient information sheet in Finland on postoperative wound care. There is no scientific proof of the harmfulness of sauna-bathing with sutures and no articles on the matter, either. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether sauna-bathing has a negative impact on wound healing. Materials and Methods: Prospective, randomised study with 79 patients scheduled for an elective hernioplasty in a day care surgical department. The other group was advised to go to sauna from 3rd postoperative day on, and for the other group, sauna was prohibited until sutures were removed. Results: There was no differences in wound healing between two groups. Conclusion: There is no reason to prohibit sauna-bathing with sutures in this patient group.