INTRODUCTION: Cyanoacrylates are liquid monomers that polymerizes, resulting in a strong hold when applied to skin. Applicable in lots of areas in Medicine and promising results in emergency rooms. DISCUSSION: The majority of the revised studies about these adhesives demonstrate results comparable to the traditional methods of suture. It is indicated for clean injuries, after adequate hemostasia, in not humid places and low tension and, especially in young people. Some advantages are the decreasing of surgery time proportionally to the size of the suture, easy application, anesthesia not needed, do not require removal, minor risk of needle sticks, painless and probably biocide activity of some CA. The disadvantages are the high cost of the adhesive, minor resistance to tension and humidity, sensation of burn in the application area, tack of the adhesive to the clothes and contact with the interior of the injury. Related complications are the higher index of dehiscence of sutures according to only one author and worse approach of the edges of the injury. CONCLUSION: When correctly indicated CA are a good alternative to suture wires and have aesthetic and functional results equivalent to traditional methods and acceptable risk of complications. More clinical assays with low cost glue are necessary to demonstrate its security and applicability in the practical, mainly in developing countries as Brazil.
Cyanoacrylates; Suture techniques; Tissue adhesives; Skin