Laser-drilled cardiovascular surgical needles.
Surgical sutures that are directly attached to the surgical needle ends are called swaged sutures.  A forming tool has been used to split one-half of the wire diameter of cardiovascular needles that forms a channel or receptacle for the suture.  With the advent of lasers, uniform holes can now be produced in the ends of small-diameter cardiovascular needles.  An advantage of the laser-produced hole is that its outer circumference is smooth; the channel swage has a linear slit that interrupts its smooth outer circumference.  A standardized reproducible test has been developed that quantitates the force required to pull the needle end through a synthetic membrane that simulates vascular tissue.  A swage produced by a laser encountered significantly less drag forces than that noted with a comparable size channel swage of cardiovascular needles.
Towler
M A
MA
Department of Plastic Surgery, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville 22908.
Clapp
C G
CG
McGregor
W
W
Morgan
R F
RF
Edlich
R F
RF
D006348:Cardiac Surgical Procedures / Q000295:instrumentation*; D004867:Equipment Design; D006801:Humans; D007834:Lasers; D008422:Materials Testing; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D009339:Needles; D013537:Sutures; D014656:Vascular Surgical Procedures / Q000295:instrumentation*