Lecture 6: Suture Materials & Patterns (Exam 1) Flashcards
What are suture’s important role in wound repair
- Provides hemostasis
- Supports healing tissue by apposing & supporting tissue layers
What determines the type of suture needed
- Type of tissue
- Anticipated duration of healing
What can cause delaying healing of wounds
- Infection
- Obesity
- Malnutrition
- Neoplasia
- Drugs
- Collagen disorders
- Hypoproteinemia
- Radiation therapy
What is the function of suture
Maintain apposition of tissue until wound’s tissue strength returns
Describe the ideal suture
- Easy to handle
- Reacts minimally in tissue
- Inhibits bacterial growth
- Holds securely when knotted
- Resists shrinking in tissue
- Absorbs w/ minimal reaction after the tissue has healed
- Noncapillary
- Nonallergenic
- Noncarcinogenic
- Nonferromagnetic
T/F: The ideal suture material does exist
False: It doesn’t exist
What is the commonly used standard for suture size
United States Pharmacopeia (USP)
Describe USP
- Denotes dimensions from fine to coarse
- According to a numeric scale
What is the smallest suture size
12-0
What is the largest suture size
7
How is “0” read
Ought
What should the smallest diameter suture (that will adequately secure wounded) be used for
- Minimaize trauma as the suture is passed through the tissue
- Reduce the amount of foreign material left in the wound
Is there an advantage to using a suture that is stronger than the tissue being sutured
No
What determines the flexibility of a suture
Its torsional stiffness & diameter
What influences sutures handling & use
Its torsional stiffnes & diameter
What are flexible sutures used for
Ligating vessels or performing continuous suture patterns
What cannot be used to ligate small bleeders
Less flexible sutures like wire
What is considered stiff compared to silk suture
- Nylon
- Surgical gut
What type of stiffness does braided polyester have
Intermediate
What do the surface characteristics of a suture influence
- The ease w/ which it is pulled through tissue (the amount of friction of “drag”)
- The amount of trauma caused
(Rough/smooth) sutures causes more injury
Rough
(Rough/Smooth) are particularly important in the delicate tissues like the eye
Smooth
What are the cons of sutures w/ smooth surfaces
- Require greater tension to ensure good apposition of tissues
- have less knot security
Which material has more drag than monofilament sutures
Braided materials