IN A PREVIOUS report the reactions during the uncomplicated healing of a full-depth transcutaneous surgical incision in young pigs were described.1In the present study we detail the complications attributable directly to closure with sutures, introduced according to standard surgical practice. Using serial sections of 225 biopsy specimens of standard wounds, closed either with sutures or with an adhesive tape, the extent of the injuries to the epidermis, appendages, dermis, and fat inflicted by suturing alone in the back skin of young pigs are clearly disclosed and illustrated fully. It seems necessary to deal in extenso with this aspect of the healing of surgically inflicted injuries because surgeons are generally unaware of the reactions of the cutaneous tissues both to their sutures and to the injuries inflicted by the suture needles used for suturing the skin; they are understandably even less cognizant of the duration of the chronic inflammatory