Selective episiotomy. Comparison of two suture technics

AIMS: The study aimed to highlight any differences between the sequelae of episiorrhaphy performed using the Blair-Donatti and Guilmen-Pontonnier techniques. METHODS: A total of 202 pregnant women were recruited in the Obstetrics Ward of Codogno Civic Hospital in 1994 and 1995. Subjects were randomly divided into two groups matched for socioeconomic status, age and parity (group A: Guilmen-Pontonnier suture, group B: Blair-Donatti suture). The following parameters were evaluated: pain twenty-four hours, sixty-six hours and one, two and three months after labour, pain during sexual relations, the onset of infection, hematoma, dehiscence of the wound, and lastly the cosmetic results. RESULTS: No significant differences were found between the parameters examined in both groups, barring the improved cosmetic result in group A.