Stitching has been a thing for centuries (millennia?) and yet there still exists no other way to hold together a big wound, why not exactly?
In: Biology
Staples, superglue, rubber bands…there’s a variety of ways to close a wound. Stitches are generally cheapest and most effective, however.
Sometimes there is no better alternatives because what we have is good or the best we think we can make. There are staples that can be used, but usually not for large wounds. Stitches are very flexible, and they can be done inside and outside the body. They dissolve on their own sometimes. They can do multiple layers of stitches for deep cuts. There is a ton of reasons to use them. And while we have been using them for a long time, we have much better stitches now than we use to.
Not everything in this world needs to be advanced. Some day we might have some space aged device that can close wounds instantly. But today we don’t.
At the end of the day, the way you close a large wound is to bring the two edges of the wound closer together, so that the body’s natural healing mechanism can get to work.
“Bring two edges closer together” is a very simple goal, and stitches work very well to reach it. What “other way” would you think is possible?
AFAIK there exists
1. A quickly hardening and self disinfecting polymer foam that is now in standard use for treating bullet wounds and burns on the field by various militaries around the globe
2. Adhesive bands joined by zipper, velcro or clamp-like tightening mechanisms, in standard use by various ambulances and other emergency services for closing large wounds very quickly
3. Superglue-catheter combo is often used to patch up arteries and veins in time sensitive surgeries
4. Surgical staplers that are often used by emergency responders to close wounds very quickly. Variants exist that are specialized in securing ligaments and organs to place during surgeries.
Meanwhile, stitches are still the most common, probably due to the combination of low cost, accessibility and general-purposeness.
Sometimes you can’t close wounds with stitches. That’s called primary intention.
Secondary intention wound healing is where you leave the wound to heal by itself and try and prevent it from becoming infected. An example of this is a diabetic foot ulcer. You can only clean it, remove dead skin and bandage it.
Someone I know used industrial glue to close a large wound in an emergency, I myself had a small face wound glued shut by a doctor.
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