Surgical sutures are indispensable for a vast majority of operative procedures. An ideal suture is characterized by high tissue compliance without cutting into the mended tissue and optimal biocompatibility. Therefore, we assessed these mechanical and biological properties for novel elastic thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) and cross‐sectional modified “snowflake” sutures. Circular and “snowflake”‐shaped TPU threads were manufactured and compared to similar surface modified polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) sutures. Regular PVDF sutures were used as the control group. Single‐axis tensile test with and without gelatinous tissue surrogates were performed to evaluate the suture incision into the specimens. Biocompatibility was evaluated by subcutaneous implantation (n = 18) in rats for 7 and 21 days. Histology and immunohistology was conducted for assessment of the foreign body reaction. Regular and modified TPU threads showed a significant reduction of incision into the tissue surrogates compared to the control. Both TPU sutures and the modified PVDF sutures achieved comparable biocompatibility versus regular PVDF threads. Detailed histology revealed novel tissue integration into the notches of the surface modified sutures, we termed this newly shaped granuloma “intrafilamentous” granuloma. Elastic TPU threads showed a significant reduction of tissue surrogate incision and suture tension loss. Biocompatibility did not significantly differ from standard PVDF. Histology demonstrated tissue ingrowth following the surface modification of the suture referred to as “intrafilamentous” granuloma. Further in vivo studies are required to illuminate the exact potential of the new sutures to optimize intestinal anastomosis.

中文翻译：

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横截面改性和高弹性缝合线减少组织切口并显示出相当的生物相容性：新型热塑性聚氨酯手术线的体外和体内评估

外科缝合线对于绝大多数手术程序都是必不可少的。理想的缝合线具有高组织顺应性而不切入修补组织和最佳生物相容性的特点。因此，我们评估了新型弹性热塑性聚氨酯 (TPU) 和横截面改性“雪花”缝合线的这些机械和生物学特性。制造了圆形和“雪花”形 TPU 线，并与类似的表面改性聚偏二氟乙烯 (PVDF) 缝合线进行了比较。常规 PVDF 缝合线用作对照组。进行有和没有凝胶状组织替代物的单轴拉伸试验以评估缝合到标本中的切口。通过皮下植入评估生物相容性（n= 18) 在大鼠中 7 天和 21 天。进行组织学和免疫组织学以评估异物反应。与对照相比，常规和改进的 TPU 线显示出组织替代物的切口显着减少。TPU 缝合线和改良的 PVDF 缝合线均与常规 PVDF 线实现了相当的生物相容性。详细的组织学显示新的组织整合到表面修饰缝合线的凹口中，我们将这种新形成的肉芽肿称为“丝内”肉芽肿。弹性 TPU 线显着减少了组织替代切口和缝合线张力损失。生物相容性与标准 PVDF 没有显着差异。组织学显示缝合线表面修饰后的组织向内生长，称为“丝内”肉芽肿。