What are surgical sutures?
Sutures, commonly called stitches, are sterile, surgical threads that are used to repair cuts (lacerations). They also are used to close incisions from surgery.
A suture is a medical device that doctors, and embalmers especially surgeons, use to hold skin, internal organs, blood vessels and all other tissues of the human body together, after they have been severed by injury, incision or surgery. Similar to other methods of wound closure, surgical suture closure creates an opportunity for wound healing. Tissues are held together until enough healing occurs to withstand stress without mechanical support.
There are many kinds of sutures, with different properties suitable for various uses. Sutures can be classified into two groups: absorbable sutures and non-absorbable sutures. An absorbable suture breaks down in tissue after a given period of time. It degrades as a wound or incision heals. A non-absorbable suture resists the body’s attempt to dissolve it. Non-absorbable sutures may be removed by a surgeon after a surface incision has healed.
Sutures must be strong (so they do not break), non-toxic and hypoallergenic (to avoid adverse reactions in the body), and flexible (so they can be tied and knotted easily). In addition, sutures must lack the so called “wick effect”, which means that sutures must not allow fluids to penetrate the body through them from outside, which could easily cause infections.
– Read more about Surgical Sutures manufactured by Dolphin Sutures