Peeping thread from a laparotomy scar: Surgeon's perspective

Sir,

I read the article entitled “Peeping thread from a laparotomy scar: Misery of an old man” by Agrawal and Dwivedi[1] with interest. This report describes a man who presented with worm colics and incidentally had a visible polypropylene suture apparent through laparotomy scar. Non-absorbable sutures (e.g., polypropylene) are currently the preferred sutures for the closure of musculo-fascial layer following laparotomy. These non-absorbable sutures may find their way through the skin and become visible at the skin surface following stitch abscess. This is a known surgical complication of using non-absorbable suture for approximation of abdominal musculo-fascial layer. It needs to be stressed here that this complication is a result of neither the negligence of the surgeons nor of the patients.