The Application of Henna (Lawsonia inermis) in Orthopedics

We describe the use of Henna (Lawsonia inermis) paste as a durable, readily available, and cost-effective material for preoperative skin marker in various orthopedic surgeries. Patients and Methods: We performed a retrospective review of prospectively collected data of 50 cases with various indications of preoperative localization of skin incision and divided them in 2 groups: Group A (n=25) were the patients where Henna was to be used as marker and group B (n=25) were the ones where permanent skin marking pen was decided to be used for the purpose of skin marking. The groups were compared for the instances of mark fading after bathing, after scrubbing of surgical part, the need for intraoperative fluoroscopy, and complications because of marking substance. Results: Of the 25 cases where henna was used for markings (group A), none had fading of mark after routine bath with soap on the morning of surgery (0 of applicable 11) or after surgical scrubbing (0 of 25). However, for the permanent marker (group B), 3 patients (of applicable 6) had fading of mark beyond recognition after routine bath with soap and additional 10 cases (of applicable 22) had fading of mark beyond recognition after surgical scrubbing (P
Source: Techniques in Orthopaedics - Category: Orthopaedics Tags: Novel Research Methods and Models Source Type: research