Materials for barbed sutures

The chemical structures of the most common suture polymers are given in Figs 13.9-13.16. The suture biomaterials shown in Table 13.1 have previously been reported by our laboratory to have successfully formed barbed sutures (Dattilo,2002 Ingle,2003). It has been shown that different polymer 

Suture trade name Manufacturer Polymer type 

PDO = poly-1,4-dioxane-2-one PGA = polyglycolic acid PTMC = polytrimethylene-carbonate PCL = polycaprolactone PGL = poly(glycolid-lactide) PG = polyglycolide PDS = p-dioxanone PTMT = polytetramethylene terephthalate i-P = isotactice polypropylene PLG = poly(lactide-glycolide). Source Ingle (2003) Chu etal. (1997). 

All polymers used for making barbed sutures exhibit viscoelastic behavior. Their mechanical performance may be associated with hysteresis, and the barb may experience permanent deformation even when the loads and extensions are well below the elastic limit. One such property, which can be useful, is stress relaxation. This can be seen when a barbed suture is sewn across a wound or incision which contains barbs distributed along its entire length. The suture can relax and each barb can conform independently to the optimal required forces in each region of the suture. Stress relaxation serves as a mechanism to eliminate unnecessary forces and stress concentrations that the suture might exert on the wound tissue. This can contribute to reduced trauma and tissue necrosis, foster quicker healing and reduce scar tissue formation. 

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