Degradable Sutures, by Cody Siroka: Difference between revisions

Degradable suture materials can be either organic or synthetic. There are many types of materials which have been used over course of their development that are absorbed by the human body. Absorbable sutures tend to be reserved for use inside the body underneath the skin as they are prone to leave a more pronounce scar upon absorption. When later removal poses potential difficulty, their use may be exhausted. For synthetic materials, it is desirable that there is no toxicity associated with its usage, is metabolized fully, long-lasting shelf life, easy to manipulate, and is sterilizable. Many factors affect the performance of a synthetic material, which consequently yields variations among molecular weight, molecular weight distribution, hydrophobicity, and crystallinity. [8] This list encompasses the most commonly used materials today.