I am a big fan of skin stapling. It's fast, easy, and does not require local anesthetic like suturing. (I know some have had sutures without anesthetic, I have sutured myself without anesthetic, also.) Because of infection risk, it may make sense to leave a wound open rather than close it. When in doubt, it is often best to leave it open. Here is a skin stapler on Amazon Surgical Disposable Sterile Skin Stapler w/Enhanced Control, 35 Preloaded Staples: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific Here is a decent video of using skin staples My technique is slightly different than this video. I prefer to start away from me and work towards me, that way I can see the staples I did previously and the last staple is not underneath the next staple site. Here is a skin staple remover Amazon.com: Skin Staple Remover Kit: Health & Personal Care Here is a somewhat gnarly video of staples being removed But I have taken them out effectively with a couple of hemostats if there was not a remover immediately available. As always, I do not take responsibility for what anyone does because of something they saw on the internet.
Another a really good video demonstrating how to use them, def a little trickier than I'd originally imagined but certainly not out of the question for the average Neanderthal like myself.
Stapling is definitely quicker, and easier, which is probably why surgeons like it. I don't believe it's a choice on any internal injuries, though, is it? For post-SHTF, however, I'm betting that suturing will be the choice of many, as it will be easier to find something to suture with, if you don't already have stapling supplies on hand. For anything but the deepest cuts (i.e.-vein damage), my buddy is a great believer in SuperGlue. Pinch it together, lay a bead of glue, hold it for a couple minutes.....voila!! Me, I'm more of a duct tape fan!
You are correct, stapling is for skin, hence the title of this thread. Suturing is fine, also. One must use special suturing techniques for stressed areas of skin (knees, elbows, upper back, etc) or the wounds will tear apart around the sutures. Staples will hold better. Cyanoacrylate (Dermabond) is great for skin closure also. I won't publicly recommend non-medical Superglue, but I won't deny that I have used it on skin, either. The stapler gives me a little more flexibility. For example, I have stapled occlusive dressings over sucking chest wounds because the skin was too wet from blood or sweat for tape to stick. I have also used the stapler to temporarily close the skin over an evisceration (exposed bowel) to maintain heat and warmth (what better moist, occlusive dressing is there than the patient's own skin?) In my experience, everything you carry in combat (or post SHTF) should have multiple purposes. If something only has one use, I find something else that does well enough, plus a few other things.