This easy and most versatile stitch can cause 'railroad track' scarring.

• A. Simple interrupted
• B. Vertical mattress
• C. Half-buried mattress
• D. Subcuticular running

Answer: (A)

Understanding how wound closure patterns affect appearance after healing is the idea here. The simple interrupted stitch is prized for being easy to place and highly versatile—each stitch is tied and removed individually, making it adaptable to a wide range of wounds. Because many of these stitches line the length of a wound, each stitch leaves a small skin puncture. When healing completes, those puncture marks can show up as a series of parallel scars along the wound, giving a railroad-track look. Other patterns have different scar profiles: subcuticular running stays under the skin with minimal surface marks, while vertical or half-buried mattress stitches are more likely to create pronounced edge eversion and deeper tissue involvement, producing different scar patterns rather than the classic railroad track appearance.