Sutures are a common medical device used during surgeries. They assist in holding body tissues together after surgery. Wounds take days to heal if they are not closed, leading to infection and bleeding. Therefore, doctors use surgical sutures. They generally involve a needle and thread. You can find sutures in different sizes, shapes, and thread materials. People use the terms sutures and stitches interchangeably. However, there are not the same.
A suture is a medical device used to repair the wound, while stitches are merely a technique to close the wound.
Types of sutures
Surgical sutures can be classified into material, structure, and make. Suture materials are of two types: absorbable and non-absorbable.
- Absorbable sutures need not be removed post-surgery as body enzymes absorb and dissolve them.
- Non-absorbable should be removed from the body post-surgery as they do not dissolve.
Suture structures are either monofilament or braided sutures.
- Monofilament sutures include a single thread that passes through body tissues easily.
- Braided sutures include small threads that are braided together. They are more secure but prone to developing infections.
Surgical sutures are made of either synthetic or natural materials. However, the make is not much difference as all suture materials are sterilised.
Suture techniques
Continuous sutures
This is a technique where the doctor uses a single strand consistently to repair a wound. The technique is a rapid suture usage method. The technique is ideal as it evenly distributes tension across the entire suture strand.
Interrupted sutures
In this technique, the doctor uses several threads on a wound. Once stitches are done, the doctor cuts off and ties the suture material. This technique ensures that the entire wound does not get exposed even if one stitch breaks as other stitches hold it together.
Deep sutures
These techniques are commonly used in procedures involving a closed facial layer. In this technique, the doctor places sutures under tissue layers that are deep below the skin layer. A continuous or interrupted suture can be employed here based on the wound and procedure.
Purse string sutures
It is a continuous suture technique and is tightened in a way like the structure of a drawstring attached to a purse. The technique is used for achieving minimal scarring as it reduces the surface area of a circular wound.
Buried sutures
These are sutures that are buried deep inside a close wound area. The technique is commonly used when larger sutures have been used in deep body corners.
Subcuticular sutures
They are found in the patient’s dermis. In this technique, the doctor mends stitches parallel to the wound. Here the doctor anchors stitches on either side of the wound.