Suture material and bacterial transport. An experimental study.

The transport of bacteria and spreading of infection by suture materials was studied. An in vitro experiment showed that immobile bacteria can propagate inside multifilament materials. The spreading was correlated to the capillary properties of the threads. A similar result was obtained in an in vivo study in the muscle of the rat. The bacterial transport inside the thread was found to be of significantly greater importance for the spreading of wound infection than that on the surface of the material.