Learning Objective Surgical dressings are mainly applied on the skin in case of injury or wounds. During any damage to the skin, the wound gets plugged with a blood clot, which is a form of natural first aid that prevents any further loss of blood or damage to the injured part. The skin is then…

Stainless steel sutures are available in monofilament, braided or twisted forms. They are made of fully softened stainless steel wire. They are nonirritant, have high tensile strength in fine gauge and are found useful in plastic and orthopedic surgeries. They are readily sterilized.

Polyester fibers are synthetic braided nonabsorbable sutures that do not lose strength upon contact with water or other body fluids. They do not contain wax or other additives and have excellent knot-holding properties. They are available in the natural color or dyed to enhance visibility in the surgical field. Coated polyester fibers are available, which…

Nylon Synthetic sutures consist of nylon fibers made from nonabsorbable (i.e., nonbiodegradable) aliphatic (e.g., polyamide 6) polymers. These sutures are typically available in sterile coated thread sections (e.g., 18, 30 inches/45, 76 cm long) attached to a single-use needle as an integral device and they are frequently colored for easy identification during surgery. Nylon sutures…

Learning Objective Natural Nonabsorbable Sutures Silk The most common nonabsorbable suture is a natural fiber, silk, which undergoes a special manufacturing process to make it adequate for its use in surgery. Natural silk surgical suture is a nonabsorbable, sterile, flexible multifilament thread composed of an organic protein called fibroin. Silk sutures are made of raw…

This is obtained from ox fascia and is designed for use as a heavy suture or repair in hernia or similar cases. It is usually attached firmly to a strong structure by means of a nonabsorbable suture. It is supplied in the form of sterile strips approximately half an inch wide and eight inches long.

This is a thin sheet of pliable tissue obtained from the appendix of the steer or ox. It is designed primarily to cover the surfaces from which the peritoneum has been removed. The membranes are available in sterile sheets of approximately 4 × 6 inches and sometimes used as a packing or protective sheath.

Learning Objective The properties of tensile strength and absorbability can be incorporated into synthetic fibers such as polymers. Synthetic absorbable sutures do not undergo the enzymically mediated absorption process. Rather, the suture is broken down completely by simple hydrolysis. Tissue reaction is minimal since leukocytes are not involved in the absorption process.

Learning Objective Boilable surgical catgut is packed in glass tubes with the strands immersed in a water-free high boiling tubing fluid, usually xylene. The exterior of the tubes can be sterilized at the hospital by autoclaving. The disadvantage of the boilable variety is that the absence of moisture inside the tubes makes the strands very stiff.…

Learning Objective Sheep intestine may be normally infected with pathogenic spore-forming bacteria responsible for tetanus and gas gangrene. Hence, sterilization process is very essential and it should be thorough. The final sterilized gut should be checked by sterility testing. The processed catgut can be sterilized by either of the following methods: Heat process: Chemically, the gut…