ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the general degradation mechanisms and factors that contribute to the biodegradation of both absorbable and nonabsorbable sutures. It discusses the effect of laser assisted fibrinogen bonding techniques on the degradation of suture materials. The chapter describes general information on the mode of chain scission, bulk vs. surface degradation, and the reported changes in physical, mechanical, thermal, and chemical properties of sutures upon degradation. It also describes the intrinsic and extrinsic factors that have been experimentally determined to affect suture. The chapter provides readers with the most up-to-date, comprehensive, and systematic understanding of how, what, and why suture materials degrade. The most elongated Polyglycolide (PGA) sutures lost all of their tensile breaking load at about the 17th day of postimplantation, while the 25% elongated and unstained PGA sutures retained 50% and 85% of their original tensile breaking loads, respectively.
