Surgical suture is a medical device used to hold body tissues together after an injury

or surgery. Application generally involves using a needle with an attached length of

thread.
The earliest reports of surgical suture date back to 3000 BC in ancient Egypt, and the
oldest known suture is in a mummy from 1100 BC.
Absorbable and Non-Absorbable Sutures
Sutures can be divided into two types those which are absorbable and will break down
harmlessly in the body over time without intervention, and those which are non-
absorbable and must be manually removed if they are not left indefinitely.
ABSORBABLE SUTURE TENSILE STRENGTH COMPLETE
ABSORPTION
Plain Catgut 7 10 days 70 days
Chromic Catgut 10 14 days 90 days
Polyglactin (Vicryl) 28 days 56 70 days
Polydioxanone (PDS) 90 days 180 days
Poliglecaprone (Monocryl) 21 days 91- 119 days
Polysorb 21 days 56-70 days
Polycaprolate (Dexon) 28 days 56-70 days

NON-ABSORBABLE SUTURES
Silk Nylon Stainless Steel
Polypropylene (Prolene) Polyester fiber
(Ethibond/Surgidac)
Polybutester Suture
(Novafil)
Synthetic and Natural Sutures
Surgical sutures can also be divided into two types on the basis of raw material origin
i.e. natural and synthetic sutures.
Natural sutures include silk and catgut sutures whereas all other sutures are
synthetic in nature.
REMOVAL
Different parts of the body heal at different speed. Common time to remove stitches will
vary: facial wounds 35 days; scalp wound 710 days; limbs 1014 days; joints 14
days; trunk of the body 710 days.