Abstract
Objective:
To compare the tensile strength of nylon, polypropylene, and fast-absorbing gut sutures treated with either 3% hydrogen peroxide or water for a period of 5 days to emulate a wound care regimen.
Methods:
An In-Spec 2200 bench-top tester was used to find the maximum load that a particular suture could sustain prior to breaking.
Results:
Analysis of the data showed a statistically significant decrease in tensile strength of fast-absorbing gut sutures treated with hydrogen peroxide compared with fast-absorbing gut suture control samples and fast-absorbing gut sutures treated with only water.
Conclusion:
Though no in vivo studies were performed, a logical extension of these results would be that premature degradation of fast-absorbing gut sutures secondary to use of hydrogen peroxide might lead to widened and/or hypertrophic scars.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.