Your doctor will use sutures to repair wounds on your skin or other tissues. When your doctor stitches an injury, they will use a needle and a length of thread to close it. Suturing can get done with a variety of readily available materials. Your doctor will select the best material for the wound or operation. Know types of sutures before you go ahead with the surgery.
Types of sutures
Sutures come in various shapes and sizes, and they can get categorised in various ways. The suture material gets divided into two categories: absorbable and nonabsorbable. Your doctor need not remove absorbable sutures. Since enzymes contained in your body's tissues naturally break them down. Your doctor needs to remove nonabsorbable sutures later, or they may be left in place permanently in some situations.
Second, the suture material can get categorised based on the material's actual structure. Sutures made of a single thread are known as monofilament sutures. It makes it easier for the suture to travel through tissues. Braided sutures get made up of multiple tiny threads that have got braided together. It can improve security, but it comes at the cost of an increased risk of infection.
Sutures can also get constructed of natural or synthetic materials. However, this distinction is not particularly useful because all suture material gets sterilised.
Types of absorbable sutures
Gut
Internal soft tissue lesions or lacerations get treated with this natural monofilament suture. Procedures involving the heart or the nervous system should not get performed on the gut. The body's reaction to this suture is the most severe, and it frequently scars. Outside of gynaecological surgery, it gets rarely employed.
Polydioxanone
This synthetic monofilament suture is suitable for soft tissue wound repairs and paediatric cardiac surgeries.
Poliglecaprone
This synthetic monofilament suture gets used for soft tissue repair in general. This substance should not get utilised in procedures involving the heart or the nervous system. The most typical application of this suture is to close the skin unnoticeably.
Polyglactin
This synthetic braided suture helps mend lacerations on the hands or the face. It should not get used for procedures involving the heart or the nervous system.
Types of nonabsorbable sutures
The following are some examples of nonabsorbable sutures. These sutures can get used for general soft tissue repair, including cardiovascular and neurological procedures.
- Nylon
- Polypropylene
- Silk
- Polyester
Sutures vs stitches
Sutures and stitches get frequently used interchangeably. It is vital to understand that "suture" refers to the medical instrument used to close the wound. Stitching is the method through which your doctor closes the wound.
Suture selection and techniques
The diameter of the suture strand gets used to grade the suture material. The grading system utilises the letter 'O' to indicate material diameter, followed by a number. The narrower the diameter of the suture strand, the higher the number. Some of the suture techniques:
- Continuous sutures
- Interrupted sutures
- Deep sutures
- Buried sutures
- Purse-string sutures