Mechanical properties of Prolene and Ethilon sutures after three weeks in vivo

The influence of mechanical loading and degradation on the mechanical characteristics of two different materials for suturing, Prolene and Ethilon, is presented. Sutures and loops were dissected out from rabbit abdominal wounds and muscle pockets, respectively, 21 days after implantation. Testing of the sutures and the loops was carried out in a materials testing machine, and the load-deformation curves were recorded, from which a number of parameters were calculated. The investigation showed that sutures undergo in vivo changes in their mechanical characteristics partly due to mechanical loading, and partly to the degradation. The changes were dissimilar in the two materials and moreover, they depended on the size of the suture.