Surgical Sutures and ligatures are available in a number of sizes. Sutures are classified into different sizes based on the diameter of the thread. United States Pharmacopeia’s classification of sutures into various sizes is widely accepted across the world. However certain European countries use the Metric system of classification of sutures based on the suture size. Higher the diameter of the suture, better the tensile strength. This classification helps manufacturers across the world in adopting uniform standards and also helps surgeons in selecting and ordering the right size of suture required for a particular procedure.
The following U.S.P. and metric suture sizes chart shows the diameter range for collagen and synthetic sutures. The unit of measurement for calculation of diameter is millimetre (mm).