Surgical suture

Doctors use stitches to help you heal.

They use a needle and thread. The needle is often curved. This helps it move through skin.

Some threads are made of silk. Other threads are made of plastic. Some threads go away on their own. This is called being absorbable.

Other threads stay in the body. They do not go away. Doctors pick the best thread for each cut.

These tools keep your skin close. This helps the wound close up. It helps you get well.

Doctors use stitches to help your body heal. These are called surgical sutures.

A suture is a medical tool. It holds body tissues together after an injury or surgery. To use them, a doctor uses a needle with thread attached.

There are many types of needles. Some are straight. Others are curved like a circle. Some needles have a hole at the end for the thread. These are called eyed needles. Other needles have the thread already attached. These are called swaged needles. Swaged needles can be easier to use. They cause less damage to soft tissue.

Doctors must pick the right thread for the job. They look at tensile strength. This is how much force the thread can hold without breaking. They also look at elasticity. This is how well the thread stretches with the body.

Some threads are absorbable. This means the body breaks them down and they go away. Some are made from natural fibers. Others are made from synthetic materials. Some threads are non-absorbable. These stay in the body for a long time. They are good for parts of the body that move a lot.

A surgical suture is a medical tool used to help the body heal. Doctors often call these stitches.

They work by holding body tissues together. This helps wound edges stay close after an injury or surgery. A medical provider uses a needle with a length of thread to do this. Choosing the right suture is a very important job. The doctor must look at the wound and the specific tissue. They need to pick a tool that fits the location perfectly.

How a suture works depends on many different factors. First, a doctor looks at tensile strength. This is how much force a thread can hold without breaking. They also check the elasticity of the material. Elasticity is how well the thread can stretch to fit changing tissues. The doctor must also think about tissue reaction. This is how much the surrounding area reacts to the thread. A good suture keeps the tissue healthy while it heals.

In the past, surgeons used different tools than they do today. They often used reusable needles with holes called eyes.

These needles had to be threaded by hand just like sewing fabric. Today, many doctors use swaged needles. These are needles that come with the thread already attached. This method is called atraumatic because it causes less damage to soft tissue. It also saves time during a medical procedure.

There are many shapes and types of needles available. Some are straight, while others are curved into circles.

You might see a 1/4 circle or even a 5/8 circle shape. Some needles have a cutting edge to help them pass through skin. Others have a round, tapered body for gentler work. There are also special "ski" or "canoe" needles. These are used in laparoscopic surgery through narrow paths.

Suture threads are also divided into two main groups. Some are absorbable, which means the body breaks them down over time. Natural absorbable threads can come from bovine intestines and are called catgut. Synthetic absorbable threads like polyglactic acid stay strong for longer. Other sutures are non-absorbable and do not break down. These are good for parts of the body that move a lot, like tendons. Materials like nylon or surgical steel are used for these long-term jobs.

A surgical suture is a medical device used to hold body tissues together. These devices are often called stitches. They work by approximating the edges of a wound after an injury or surgery. This close placement allows the body to heal more effectively. Choosing the right suture is a complex decision for medical providers. They must match the tool to the specific location and type of tissue.

To select a suture, a provider must consider several mechanical properties. First, they look at tensile strength. This is the ability of the thread to hold tissues together without breaking. The provider must account for the mechanical and shear forces acting on the wound. They also evaluate elasticity, which is how well the material adapts to changing tissues. For example, tissues may swell due to edema. The provider also considers tissue reactivity. This is the inflammatory response of the surrounding area to the suture material.

Needle design is a critical part of the suturing process. Historically, surgeons used reusable needles with eyes, much like sewing fabric. Today, many use swaged or atraumatic needles. In a swaged suture, the thread is already attached to the needle. This method is faster and reduces drag when passing through tissue. It also protects friable, or easily crumbled, tissue from damage.

Needles come in many shapes, such as straight or various circular curves. Some are 1/4 circle, while others are 5/8 circle. Special designs like "ski" or "canoe" needles are used in laparoscopic surgery. These allow curved needles to function through narrow cannulas in the abdominal cavity.

Needles are also classified by their point geometry. A taper needle has a round body that ends in a smooth point. A cutting needle has a triangular body with a sharpened edge. There are also reverse cutting needles, where the edge is on the outside curve. Other types include trocar points and spatula points. Spatula points are flat on the top and bottom. These are specifically used during eye surgery.

Suture materials are divided into absorbable and non-absorbable categories. Absorbable sutures are broken down by the body through proteolysis or hydrolysis. These are often used for internal tissues to avoid extra procedures for removal. Natural absorbable materials include catgut, which is made from bovine intestines. Plain catgut maintains strength for 7 to 10 days. Chromic catgut is coated in salt to decrease tissue reactivity. Fast catgut is treated with heat to allow for even quicker absorption.

Synthetic absorbable sutures offer different advantages. For example, polyglactin 910, also known as Vicryl, is a polyfilament suture. It loses all tensile strength within 28 days. Another example is polydioxanone, or PDS, which is a monofilament. PDS can maintain its strength for 36 to 53 days. Non-absorbable sutures are used when high force is present, such as in tendons. These include materials like nylon, polypropylene, and surgical steel.

Sutures can also be categorized by their fiber structure. Monofilament sutures consist of a single fiber. These create less tissue trauma and are good for delicate blood vessels. Polyfilament, or braided, sutures are made of multiple fibers. These generally have greater tensile strength and better knot security. However, they may have a higher propensity to harbor bacteria. The choice between these types depends on the balance of strength and the need to minimize tissue reaction.