II. Category

  1. Synthetic Nonabsorbable Suture (monofilament)

III. Advantages: Good choice for skin closure

  1. High tensile strength
  2. Minimal tissue reactivity
  3. Excellent elasticity
  4. Low cost

IV. Disadvantages

  1. High memory (requires 3 to 4 knot throws to hold)
    1. Pliabilized Ethilon in Alcohol reduces memory

V. Absorption (Hydrolyzes in skin at very slow rate)

  1. Year 1: 89% of tensile strength
  2. Year 2: 72% of tensile strength
  3. Year 11: 66% of tensile strength

VI. References

  1. Epperson in Pfenninger and Fowler (1994) Procedures for Primary Care Physicians, Mosby, Chicago, p. 3-11
  2. Townsend (2001) Sabiston Textbook Surgery, p. 1552-3
  3. Howell (1997) Emerg Med Clin North Am 15(2):417-25 [PubMed]
  4. Moy (1991) Am Fam Physician 44(6):2123-8 [PubMed]

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Related Studies

Ontology: Nylon suture (C0183734)

Definition (UMD) Synthetic sutures consisting of nylon fibers made from nonabsorbable (i.e., nonbiodegradable) aliphatic (e.g., polyamide 6) polymers. These sutures are typically available in sterile coated thread sections (e.g., 18, 30 in [45, 76 cm] long) attached to a single-use needle as an integral device; they are frequently colored for easy identification during surgery. Nylon sutures keep their tensile strength for very long periods of time; nylon is not absorbed, but hydrolysis may result in gradual loss of tensile strength over time. Nylon nonabsorbable synthetic sutures' intended use includes general soft-tissue approximation and suturing of internal organs and tissues.
Concepts Medical Device (T074)
SnomedCT 78641001
English Nylon suture, device, Sutures, Nylon, Sutures, Synthetic, Nonabsorbable, Nylon, Nylon Sutures, nylon suture, nylon sutures, Nylon suture, Nylon suture, device (physical object)
Spanish sutura de nailon (objeto fĂ­sico), sutura de nailon

Ontology: Dermalon (C0205862)

Concepts Organic Chemical (T109)
MSH D009757
Italian Dermalon
English Dermalons, Dermalon
Norwegian Dermalon

Ontology: Ethilon (C0205863)

Concepts Organic Chemical (T109)
MSH D009757
Italian Ethilon
English ethilon, Ethilons, Ethilon
Norwegian Ethilon