Sutures and bladder wound healing in the experimental animal.

An incision was made in the bladder of each of 81 female rats, then closed with various types and sizes of sutures and by different methods in order to determine the optimum suture and method to facilitate watertight closure and wound healing. Chromic catgut, collagen, and polyglycolic acid sutures, of different sizes, were used. Pressure studies and microscopic examinations of the wound were done at different intervals. All sutures lasted long enough to allow healing of the wound and none broke during pressure studies. A two-layer continuous closure with fine suture was the most watertight. Tissue reaction was almost absent when polyglycolic acid suture was used and was minimal with fine chromic catgut.