Thermal treatment of thermoplastic filaments for the preparation of surgical sutures
AssigneeEthicon, Inc.
InventorEphraim Broyer
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Thermoplastic monofilament sutures having improved flexibility and handling characteristics are obtained by a melt spinning process which includes the step of drawing the filaments in a heated zone maintained at a temperature above the melting temperature of the filament. The resulting monofilament sutures have a higher elongation and lower modulus than comparable monofilament sutures obtained without the heated drawing step, and are characterized by a crystalline structure which is more highly ordered in the core of the monofilament suture than in a surrounding annular area.
Claims12
A drawn and oriented monofilament suture comprising a thermoplastic polymer selected from the group consisting of poly(p-dioxanone), polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinylidene fluoride, copolymers of glycolide and trimethylene carbonate, homopolymers of lactide, homopolymer of glycolide, copolymers of glycolide and lactide, copolymers of lactide and p-dioxanone, copolymers of glycolide and p-dioxanone, and copolymers of .epsilon.-caprolactone and p-dioxanone;
- having a unified structure defined by an outer surface, a central core, and annular portion between said central core and said outer surface, said central core having a spherulitic structure which is different from that of said annual portion.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.