A comparison of a new polypropylene suture with prolene

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to examine the performance of the newly available monofilament polypropylene suture (Surgipro) manufactured by U.S. Surgical and compare it with commercial Prolene sutures for determining the merit of this new suture. Two different sizes of Surgipro sutures were used. They were 4/0 and 0 sizes and were tested in terms of their fundamental properties: level of crystallinity, melting temperature, fiber morphology, and mechanical properties including knot strength and knot security. The effect of three different sterilization methods on the mechanical and fundamental properties of the new polypropylene (PP) sutures was also examined. In general, the new Surgipro sutures performed as good as Prolene sutures in terms of mechanical properties; but there were some differences in fundamental properties between these two types of PP sutures, particularly in finer size PP sutures. The major differences were in interior fiber morphology, level of crystallinity, and melting temperature. Surgipro suture fibers showed homogeneous interior morphology, while Prolene fibers exhibited two distinctive fiber morphologies. These two types of PP suture fibers also responded differently to the three sterilization methods tested. Surgipro sutures are less affected by different sterilization methods than the same size Prolene control. Except for the Co 60 gamma sterilization, Surgipro suture fibers did not exhibit statistically significant differences in tensile breaking strength between sterilized and control. Ethylene oxide and autoclave sterilized Prolene suture fibers, however, showed statistically (p less than 0.05) consistently lower tensile breaking strength than their unsterilized controls.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Synthetic surgical meshes used in abdominal wall surgery: Part I-materials and structural conformation

“…During mesh fabrication from extrusion to knitting, the material can undergo changes in its crystalline structure. Some studies investigated the morphology, crystallinity, mechanical properties, and stability after sterilization for PP filaments used in surgical sutures and later employed to knit surgical meshes . It has been widely acknowledged that sterilization induces modification in polymer crystalline structure and mechanical properties .…”

“…Some studies investigated the morphology, crystallinity, mechanical properties, and stability after sterilization for PP filaments used in surgical sutures and later employed to knit surgical meshes. 22 It has been widely acknowledged that sterilization induces modification in polymer crystalline structure and mechanical properties. 23,24 Nonetheless, an in-depth investigation into the chemical properties and stability of mesh materials is almost absent.…”

In Vitro Comparison of Mechanical and Degradation Properties of Equivalent Absorbable Suture Materials from Two Different Manufacturers

“…However, fibers with the same chemical composition and size do not necessarily have the same mechanical performance. This is because a wide range of physical, mechanical, and thermal properties of fibers can be achieved by altering their processing conditions 4 . Therefore, it is not appropriate to assume that sutures of the same type from different manufacturers will behave similarly in clinical settings.…”

BioGlue® is not associated with polypropylene suture breakage after aortic surgery

“…These results imply that BioGlue® does not cause mechanical damage to the polypropylene sutures used to seal the anastomosis or reapproximate the dissected layers during aortic dissection repair. Although only Prolene® sutures were tested in this study, the implications of this study may apply to polypropylene sutures in general ( 13 ), including Surgipro™ II ( 14 ), given that their properties and tensile strength have been shown to be largely comparable.…”