Sutures and Stitches Chapter7 P53-60 Flashcards
GENERAL INFORMATION
1. What is a suture?
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Any strand of material used to ligate blood vessels or to approximate tissues
- How are sutures sized?
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By diameter; stated as a number of O’s: the higher the number of O’s, the smaller the diameter (e.g., 2-O suture has a larger diameter than 5-O suture)
- Which is thicker, 1-O suture or 3-O suture?
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1-O suture (pronounced “one oh”)
CLASSIFICATION
1. What are the two most basic suture types?
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Absorbable and nonabsorbable
- What is an absorbable suture?
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Suture that is completely broken down by the body (dissolving suture)
- What is a nonabsorbable suture?
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Suture is not broken down (permanent suture)
SUTURES
1. Catgut
a) What are “catgut” sutures made of?
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Purified collagen fibers from the intestines of healthy cows or sheep (sorry, no cats)
b) What are the two types of gut sutures?
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Plain and chromic
c) What is the difference between plain and chromic gut?
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Chromic gut is treated with chromium salts (chromium trioxide), which results in more collagen crosslinks, making the suture more resistant to breakdown by the body
- Vicryl® Suture
a) What is it?
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Absorbable, braided, multifilamentous copolymer of lactide and glycoside
b) How long does it retain its strength?
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60% at 2 weeks, 8% at 4 weeks
c) Should you ever use PURPLE-colored Vicryl® for skin closure?
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NO—it may cause purple tattooing
- PDS®
a) What is it?
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Absorbable, monofilament polymer of polydioxanone (absorbable fishing line)
b) How long does it maintain its tensile strength?
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70% to 74% at 2 weeks, 50% to 58% at 4 weeks, 25% to 41% at 6 weeks
c) How long does it take to complete absorption?
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180 days (6 months)
d) What is silk?
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Braided protein filaments spun by the silkworm larva; known as a nonabsorbable suture
e) What is Prolene?
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Nonabsorbable suture (used for vascular anastomoses, hernias, abdominal fascial closure)
f) What is nylon?
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Nonabsorbable “fishing line”