Scar Unzipped? A Best Friend Won’t Tell You

A maker of garment zippers says that surgeons should not substitute its products for stitches in temporarily closing incisions, but one doctor says zippers work fine--as long as they don’t pop open accidentally.

The exchange, headlined “If You Snip, Don’t Zip!” was published in the letters section of Thursday’s New England Journal of Medicine, a forum that often explores offbeat aspects of the medical field.

Bernard J. Rubin, an official of YKK in Macon, Ga., wrote: “It has recently come to our attention that at least one physician is using our zippers to close surgical incisions.”

Rubin said that his company’s zippers are unsuitable for surgery because they come in contact with oils, lubricants, detergents and other common chemicals while being manufactured.

“Illness or injury may result if this product is used for surgical purposes,” he said. “We cannot be responsible for any injury caused by such use.”

The journal referred his letter to Dr. H. Harlan Stone of the University of Maryland. His reply:

“The use of the zipper has greatly facilitated re-examination of the abdomen when it is required on an almost daily basis. We have tried many different zippers over the past few years. Our initial studies used the YKK, but at present we prefer the Talon, since it is less likely to disengage spontaneously and lead to evisceration.”