Staples can be applied more rapidly than sutures and have a lower rate of infection, with less of a foreign-body reaction They are best for wounds of the scalp, trunk, and extremities when saving time is important and cosmesis is less of a concern Therefore, they are particularly helpful when treating mass casualties, or when restraining a patient with a suitable wound is challenging Staples are left in place for the same length of time as sutures They are somewhat more painful to remove and should be removed with a specially designed instrument to avoid tissue damage Staples not allow for meticulous cosmetic repair as with sutures Thus, they should not be used for lacerations of the face, neck, hands, or feet They should also not be used if the patient requires magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or computed tomography (CT) Painless Alternatives to Sutures Skin tape causes no suture marks, minimal tissue reaction, and fewer wound infections than sutures Tape strips, cut to size, can be used to take up tension at the wound margins and can be placed between sutures, or can be placed over absorbable sutures for additional protection These strips are also useful as the only means to close simple lacerations that extend just through the dermis They may be as useful as tissue adhesives for facial lacerations in children Multiple tangential, triangular skin flaps (e.g., those created when an unrestrained passenger hits the windshield of a car) are closed well with tape strips Likewise, old or contaminated wounds, such as dog bites on the extremities, can be loosely approximated with skin tape When tape is used, the wound should be cleansed as any other wound Care must be taken to properly realign the dermis and epithelium If the tape is pulled too tightly, the margins of the wound may overlap, causing the wound to heal with a raised ridgelike area where the overlap occurred The tape is applied perpendicularly across the wound with some space between to allow the wound to drain An adhesive such as benzoin can keep the strips more secure if it is applied to the adjacent skin (not the wound) and allowed to dry before applying the tape strips Importantly, benzoin can cause intense burning sensation if it comes into contact with the wound and should be applied at least to mm away from the wound edge but within a reaching distance of the tape Some recommend leaving the taped wound uncovered because a bandage may increase moisture and cause the tape to fall off prematurely Tape strips should not be used on wounds subject to tension, such as those over flexor surfaces of joints They should not be applied in areas of the body that are moist, such as the palms or axillae, because they will not adhere They may be