Five year study of tissue reaction to synthetic sutures.

Sutures were implanted in the abdominal wall muscles of rabbits and specimens recovered at intervals from six month to five years. Tissue reaction around Nylon and Dacron was minimal. The reaction of Teflon coated Dacron was increased because of shedding of the Teflon. The polypropylene sutures showed fragmentation in 4% of the sutures examined and the perisutural formation of bone, cartilage or both in 2.6%.