The Bolster technique. An orthopedic application

A technique that has long been a mainstay in the field of general surgery is introduced with applications for the orthopedic surgeon. A red-rubber catheter is sectioned for use as a bolster in conjunction with a standard monofilament, nonabsorbable suture for horizontal mattress skin closure. This technique is described and illustrated in a postresection patient who has a gouty elbow tophus in an olecranon bursitis. The inflamed, tenuous skin had been infiltrated with tophus and would have been susceptible to slough with traditional skin closure.