▼This page is a material entry for the SELF Tissue Database.
It documents the tissue applications, practical guidance, and related simulators for this material to support low-cost, reproducible surgical simulator development.


Suture is surgical thread used to close wounds and to join tissues, and in simulation it is the consumable the trainee places into whatever substrate the simulator provides — it is not a tissue simulant itself. A suture is described by three things. The material: silk; nylon, also called polyamide and sold under the brand name Ethilon; polypropylene, sold as Prolene; and the absorbable polyglactin-910, sold as Vicryl. The construction: monofilament, a single smooth strand, or braided, several strands twisted together. And the gauge, on the USP scale, where more zeros means a finer thread — 3-0 is coarse and 10-0 is microsurgical. Thread is normally sold pre-mounted on a needle. A round-bodied (tapered) needle spreads tissue apart rather than cutting it, which is what bowel and vessel work calls for. Non-absorbable types (silk, nylon, polypropylene) stay until someone removes them. Absorbable types (polyglactin) break down in place. This class is the home for every one of those forms — sold as surgical suture, silk suture, silk thread, silk ties and brand-named Ethilon suture. Specific brands and gauges are recorded in the table below and in each simulator's build steps, not in the class title.

Suture is a consumable rather than a tissue simulant. This page therefore carries no tissues table: nothing here stands in for a tissue. The gauge and material are chosen per procedure. Every specification in the table below is the one its published source states.


Consumables

Consumable Quantity Approximate Cost Simulator Notes
9-0 and 10-0 polyamide (nylon) microsuture; 3-0 polyglactin STA-MCA Bypass Trainer Microsurgical end-to-side anastomosis. 9-0 and 10-0 polyamide (nylon) microsuture; the source specifies Ethilon, with 5.0 mm (9-0) and 3.8 mm (10-0) round-bodied needles. 9-0 was used in 15 of 24 anastomoses and 10-0 in the other 9; 10-0 also ligates the vessel's accessory branches. 3-0 polyglactin-910 (Vicryl) secures the IV cannulas to the vessel stumps. The dominant consumable cost across the 24-session series. The source's Methods section and the Ethilon brand both indicate polyamide (nylon); its Results and Discussion sections call the sutures "polyethylene" — polyamide is followed here.[1]
10-0 nylon microsuture; 3-0 nylon tie Grapefruit Distal ACA Bypass Simulator Microsurgical side-to-side anastomosis. 10-0 nylon for the side-to-side anastomosis, consumed during practice. 3-0 nylon serves as the cannulation tie. Practised on grapefruit septal membranes and chicken wing brachial artery segments. This build uses no 9-0.[2]
6-0 and 7-0 polypropylene Vascular Anastomosis Simulator (Cubas) Bench vascular anastomosis. 6-0 and 7-0 polypropylene on plastic-straw vessel surrogates.[3]
4-0 or 5-0 silk, round-bodied (tapered) needle Neonatal Enterocutaneous Anastomosis Simulator Bowel anastomosis. 4-0 or 5-0 silk on a round-bodied (tapered) needle. The source chooses inexpensive silk deliberately, to maximise affordability and accessibility for learners in low- and middle-income countries. For the actual procedure on patients, the source notes 4-0 or 5-0 Vicryl or PDS on a round-bodied needle.[4]
3-0 silk ties VesselBox Vessel Ligation Trainer (Hu) Vessel ligation. 3-0 silk ties. The source used Hefei Fast Nonwoven Products Co (Anhui, China). With reused expired gloves, the silk is the dominant per-attempt consumable cost.[5]
3-0 silk Knot Tying Force-Feedback Simulator (Amiel) Knot-tying under force feedback. 3-0 silk, a use-time consumable. The source used Sofsilk 3-0 (Medtronic). Tied one-handed square-knot technique.[6]
Mononylon 4-0 (5-0 and 6-0 named but not preferred) Suture Simulator (Almeida) Skin and general suturing practice. Mononylon 4-0 gives the firmest edge apposition and resists tearing. Finer 5-0 and 6-0 threads can tear the pad edges under higher-intensity manual traction.[7]
6-0 Prolene (polypropylene) Lumbar Laminectomy and Dural Closure Simulator (Bakhshi) Dural closure under the microscope. 6-0 Prolene (polypropylene) closes the latex-glove dura. A use-time consumable, not a build material: the vendors in the source bootcamp supplied it free of charge.[8]
Silk ties, gauge not stated in the source Acute Appendicitis Simulator Appendix stump ligation. Silk ties close the cut, inverted glove. The closed glove retains the sand and cotton fill. The build instructions state no gauge.[9]







References

  1. ↑ Akdag BA, Akdag B, Ikizoglu E, Husemoglu B, Kizmazoglu C, Aydin HE, Ozer E. "A Novel Training Model for Superficial Temporal Artery-Middle Cerebral Artery Anastomosis Using Microsurgical Techniques." World Neurosurgery. 2024;190:e665–e674. DOI 10.1016/j.wneu.2024.07.200. PMID 39098505.
  2. ↑ Cikla U, Rowley P, Jennings Simoes EL, Ozaydin B, Goodman SL, Avci E, Baskaya MK, Patel NJ. "Grapefruit Training Model for Distal Anterior Cerebral Artery Side-to-Side Bypass." World Neurosurgery. 2020;138:39–51. DOI 10.1016/j.wneu.2020.02.107. PMID 32109640.
  3. ↑ Cubas WS. "Building and training a low-cost and portable vascular anastomosis simulator: initial experience of a surgical resident." Cirugía Cardiovascular. 2022;29:82–88. DOI 10.1016/j.circv.2021.10.007. CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
  4. ↑ Wong J, Udeigwe-Okeke C, Ameh E. Colostomy in Newborns training module. Appropedia, 2021. Available at: https://www.appropedia.org/Colostomy_in_Newborns
  5. ↑ Hu Y, Le IA, Goodrich RN, Edwards BL, Gillen JR, Smith PW, Schroen AT, Rasmussen SK. "Construct validation of a cost-effective vessel ligation benchtop simulator." Journal of Surgical Education. 2015;72(3):381–386. DOI 10.1016/j.jsurg.2014.11.003. PMID 25678049.
  6. ↑ Amiel I, Anteby R, Cordoba M, Laufer S, Shwaartz C, Rosin D, Gutman M, Ziv A, Mashiach R. "Feedback based simulator training reduces superfluous forces exerted by novice residents practicing knot tying for vessel ligation." American Journal of Surgery. 2020;220(1):100–104. DOI 10.1016/j.amjsurg.2019.11.027. PMID 31806168.
  7. ↑ Almeida NRC, Braga JP, Bentes LGB, Lemos RS, Fernandes MRN, Andrade GL, Araújo VMM, Santos DRD, Yasojima EY. "Low-cost suture simulator to gain basic surgical skills." Acta Cirúrgica Brasileira. 2023;38:e384223. DOI 10.1590/acb384223. PMID 37851786.
  8. ↑ Bakhshi SK, Ahmad R, Merchant AAH, Noorali AA, Abdul Rahim K, Shaikh NQ, Afzal N, Lakhdir MPA, Shamim MS, Haider AH. "Development, outcome and costs of a simulation-based neurosurgery bootcamp at the national level." BMC Medical Education. 2022;22:896. DOI 10.1186/s12909-022-03965-9. PMID 36578075. Licensed CC BY 4.0.
  9. ↑ ALL-SAFE Consortium. ALL-SAFE Acute Appendicitis Simulation Build Instructions. Global Surgical Training Challenge, 2022. Build-instruction document not indexed in PubMed; primary source linked directly.
Page data
Keywords suture, surgical suture, suture material, surgical thread, nylon suture, polyamide, polypropylene, vicryl, silk suture, microsuture, knot tying, anastomosis, suturing practice
Authors Arturopelayo
License CC-BY-SA-4.0
Language English (en)
Related 0 subpages, 12 pages link here
Redirects TissueDB/Materials/Silk Thread, TissueDB/Materials/Surgical Suture, TissueDB/Materials/Silk Suture, TissueDB/Materials/Ethilon Suture
Views 5 page views (analytics)
Created July 4, 2026 by Arturo Pelayo
Last edit August 11, 2026 by Arturo Pelayo
Cite as Arturopelayo (2026). "TissueDB/Materials/Suture". Appropedia. Retrieved September 29, 2026.
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