Comparison of the holding capacity of round monofilament, round multifilament, and flat multifilament nitinol suture loops in human cadaveric flexor tendon

Abstract

Tendon repairs done with strong suture materials fail by suture pull out. To avoid pull out, suture loop needs to have a strong grip on the tendon. The aim of this study was to determine whether a single suture loop has a better grip of the tendon when multifilament or flat sutures are used compared with a conventional monofilament round suture. A cross-locking or simple grasping suture loop was placed into the distal end of a human cadaveric tendon using nitinol wire sutures in the following configurations: round monofilament (200 μm), round multifilament (4 × 100 μm), and flat multifilament (4 × 30 μm × 445 μm). The mean pull-out strength of the round multifilament (49.4 N) and flat multifilament sutures (50.7 N) were significantly higher than that of the round monofilament nitinol suture (36.5 N) when a locking loop was used. Suture grip can be improved by using a multifilament suture and a locking type of suture configuration. © The Author(s) 2012.