What Kind of Thread Is Used for Plastic Surgery Sutures?

Hello, this is Director Jo Hyun-woo of Stacked Plastic Surgery.

Today, I’d like to explain the sutures used in plastic surgery.

Most patients who have surgery ask whether the stitches are dissolvable or need to be removed, so I’ll organize everything for you here.

Sutures come in many different types.

If we classify sutures by composition, they can be divided into natural sutures made from natural substances and synthetic sutures made from chemically synthesized materials.

By property, there are sutures that dissolve over time and sutures that do not dissolve.

They can also be divided by the number of fibers into monofilament and multifilament sutures, which are made by twisting several strands together.

First, natural sutures classified by composition are made using substances found in nature, while newer sutures are considered synthetic sutures.

Examples include chromic suture made from sheep intestine and silk suture made from the protein fibers of silkworm cocoons.

These sutures are soft and easy to handle, and although they have been used for a very long time, they are being gradually replaced by synthetic sutures because of the possibility of tissue reaction, inflammation, and infection.

Among natural sutures, there are both dissolvable and non-dissolvable types. Chromic is a dissolvable suture, while silk is a non-dissolvable suture.

In plastic surgery these days, synthetic sutures are used in almost all cases, and because their composition and properties vary widely, it is important to use the right product for each situation.

Compared with natural sutures, synthetic sutures are more elastic and smoother, so they require skill to handle well, but it is true that they have fewer inflammatory reactions, which are a drawback of natural sutures.

So, in which areas are dissolvable sutures used, and in which areas are non-dissolvable sutures used?

In the field of plastic surgery, non-absorbable sutures are used in almost all cases.

For absorbable sutures, it can take as little as 20 days and as long as 6 months for the suture to be absorbed, so they cannot be left visible on the skin.

If you look at this table, you can see how slowly dissolvable sutures actually dissolve.

Patients often think dissolvable sutures are better, but you can see that that is not necessarily the case.

Common non-absorbable sutures used on the skin include silk, a representative natural suture, and nylon, a representative synthetic suture.

In most cases, these two types of sutures are used, and a suture called proline is also sometimes used.

silk

nylon

prolene

Absorbable sutures are mainly used when bringing together tissue beneath the skin, and in plastic surgery they are also sometimes used on mucosal areas.

In contouring surgery, dissolvable sutures are used on the mucosal area where the incision is made inside the mouth.

Because the mucosa is a delicate area, absorbable sutures are used, and vicryl is mainly used.

In some cases where suture removal is not possible, chromic, a natural suture that dissolves quickly, is used.

Also, during nose surgery, dissolvable sutures are often used on the mucosal area inside the nose.

vicryl

chromic

In conclusion, in plastic surgery, visible areas are almost always stitched with non-dissolvable sutures, while hidden areas such as inside the mouth or inside the nose are stitched with dissolvable sutures. Since dissolvable sutures also take a long time to dissolve, it is best to remove them all if you want to avoid scarring.

So far, we’ve looked at the types of sutures used in plastic surgery.

If you remember only what I’ve explained, you’ll be able to understand what kind of suture is used when you have surgery with me.

Thank you.^^