Enhancing needle durability by silicone coating of surgical needles

The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of coating surgical needles with silicone on their durability. Needle durability is a measure of needle sharpness after repeated passage through tissue. Needle sharpness was determined by quantitating the energy required to pass a designated needle repeatedly (20 times) through porcine skin, linea alba, colon, and aorta. The results demonstrate that the durability and sharpness of silicone-coated needles were significantly greater than those of comparable uncoated needles in linea alba, colon, and aorta, but not in skin.