Tensile strength of corneoscleral wounds repaired with absorbable sutures

The tensile strength of healing corneoscleral wounds repaired with 9-0 and 10-0 nylon, polyglycolic acid, and polyglycolic-lactic acid sutures was measured in rabbit eyes at the first, third, and sixth postoperative weeks. In all cases, the tensile strength of the wound increased to about 50 percent of that of intact control tissue by the sixth week. There were no differences between the tensile strengths of wounds and the severity of inflammation in the anterior chamber between eyes sutured with nylon and those sutured with absorbable materials. Conjunctival injection persisted longer around nylon sutures, however, than it did around either polyglycolic acid or polyglycolic-lactic acid sutures. The absorbable sutures maintain sufficient strength to support healing corneoscleral wounds.