Buy Sutures and Accessories

Surgical sutures are medical devices designed to close wounds to allow the tissue to heal. Sutures hold body tissue together and are applied via a surgical needle attached to a length of thread. Both natural and synthetic materials are available for suture threads, and different sizes and shapes of suture needles are available for different applications.

Suture thread is classified by its material into two main types: absorbable sutures and non-absorbable, based on whether the body will break down and absorb the material over time. Absorbable sutures are used in internal body tissues, or for situations where a patient is unable to have sutures removed at a later date. The time it takes for complete absorption varies based on the material used; for example, vicryl sutures take 60 days, whereas monocryl sutures take about 100 days. Non-absorbable sutures are often used to close wounds in the skin, and are removed once the tissue is sufficiently healed.

Suture materials are also categorized by their origin and structure. Natural materials in silk sutures and catgut sutures are less frequently used than the synthetic materials in PDS sutures and nylon sutures. Monofilament sutures have a single strand structure, whereas multifilament sutures are composed of several filaments to form the braided sutures. Monocryl sutures and prolene sutures are classified as monofilament, and vicryl sutures and silk sutures are classified as multifilament.