Sutures come as either absorbable or nonabsorbable:
Absorbable Sutures
They are used in many of the internal tissues of the body. No need for the patient to have the sutures removed.
Natural Absorbable Sutures
1.Catgut Sutures- Plain catgut and Chromic catgut sutures
Synthetic Absorbable Sutures
2.Polyglycolic Acid Sutures (Dexon) (PGA sutures) – coated and braided suture
3.Polyglactin 910 Sutures (Vicryl) (PGLA sutures)- coated and braided suture
4.Poliglecaprone Sutures (Monocryl) (PGCL sutures)- monofilament suture
5.Polydioxanone Sutures (PDS)- monofilament suture
Non-Absorbable Sutures
Are used either on skin wound closure where the sutures can be removed after a few weeks or in some inner tissues in which absorbable sutures are not adequate (e.g. in the heart, blood vessels, bladder, etc).
Non-Absorbable Sutures:
1. Polypropylene sutures (Prolene)- monofilament suture
2. Nylon suture or Polyamide sutures- monofilament suture
3. Silk Sutures – Black Braided suture. Silk sutures are no longer used to close the skin because of their poor tensile strength and high tissue reactivity.
4. Polyester sutures- coated and braided suture
Resources:
Click to access suture_types.pdf
The rhythmic movement of the heart and blood vessels requires a suture which stays longer than three weeks, to give the wound enough time to close. Other organs, like the bladder, contain fluids which make absorbable sutures disappear in only a few days, too early for the wound to heal. In these cases, nonabsorbable sutures will be used in inner tissues.