title: A prospective clinical evaluation of the longevity of resorbable sutures in oral mucosa.
abstract: A prospective, randomised and controlled clinical investigation was undertaken to evaluate the longevity of resorbable sutures in the oral environment. The sutures investigated were gut, polyglycolic acid and polyglactin 910, were of standard gauge and needle type, and were placed using a standard technique by trained clinicians. The sutures were monitored following apical surgery in 55 patients (110 sutures) and the median survival values were: gut - 4 days, polyglycolic acid - 15 days, polyglactin 910 - 28 days. These differences were highly statistically significant. A postal survey of 30 randomly selected oral and maxillofacial surgeons reveal most prefer to use resorbable sutures, with softgut the most popular choice. Most would like an ideal resorbable suture to last 5 to 14 days and in this respect none of the materials tested appears satisfactory.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Princess Alexandra's Royal Air Force Hospital Wroughton, Swindon, Wiltshire, UK.
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Shaw
authors.forename: T W
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Negus
authors.forename: T K
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Mellor
mesh_terms: D000042:Absorption; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry; D002398:Catgut; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D006801:Humans; D008422:Materials Testing; D009061:Mouth Mucosa / Q000601:surgery*; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D011098:Polyglactin 910 / Q000737:chemistry; D011100:Polyglycolic Acid / Q000737:chemistry; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013515:Surgery, Oral; D013537:Sutures; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D011100:Polyglycolic Acid; D011098:Polyglactin 910