A new resorbable monofilament stature

Suture materials are classified into two broad categories: resorbable and nonresorbable. Resorbable sutures lose their entire tensile strength within 2-3 months, while nonresorbable suture materials retain their strength longer than 2-3 months. Resorbable sutures are made from either collagen derived from sheep intestinal submucosa or synthetic biodegradable polymers such as polyglycolide. In terms of the physical configuration of suture materials, they can be classified into monofilament, multifilament, twisted and braided. The purpose of this study is to develop a new suture material that can be used in the form of monofilament. For this purpose L-lactide was copolymerized with epsilon-caprolactone to reduce the Young's modulus of poly-L-lactide. Since the most important characteristics in biodegradation and resorption of absorbable sutures are the strength and mass loss profiles and the biosafety of degradation by-products associated with chronic inflammatory reactions, the present study focused on these properties of the monofilament suture fabricated from the L-lactide-epsilon-caprolactone (75/25) copolymer [P(LA/CL)]. The knot-pull strength of the P(LA/CL) suture was almost similar to that of PDS II(R) and MAXON(R), which have been clinically used, although the tensile strength of the P(LA/CL) suture was a little lower. The mass loss profile of the P(LA/CL) suture was in the middle between those of PDS II(R) and MAXON(R). Histopathological study revealed that the P(LA/CL) suture elicited a very mild foreign-body reaction similar to PDS II(R), in contrast with a silk suture. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Limited. All rights reserved.