Embedded Cross-Stitch Suture: An Alternative to Current Cross-Stitch Peripheral Suture

Abstract

The cross-stitch peripheral suture has good strength, but the large amount of exposed suture on the tendon surface has restricted its clinical usage. We report a method of embedded cross-stitch that incorporates cross-stitches into peripheral sutures and reduces the amount of exposed suture on the tendon surface. Thirty-three fresh pig flexor tendons were divided equally into three groups and repaired with cross-stitch, embedded cross-stitch, or modified Halsted sutures. The tendons were tested in an Instron tensile machine to assess the mechanical performance of these repairs. With an identical number of strands across the repair site, the gap formation and ultimate forces of the embedded cross-stitch method were statistically greater than those of the cross-stitch and modified Halsted methods. The embedded cross-stitch method also had significantly greater stiffness and energy to failure than the cross-stitch method. The embedded cross-stitch method, with little suture exposure on the tendon and sufficient strength, presents an alternative to the current cross-stitch peripheral repair.