AROUND THE WORLD 20 TIMES:

Ethicon, Inc., makes enough suture thread annually to wrap around the world 20 times along the equator, says Ed Dormier, the company's vice president for new technology....[More]

AROUND THE WORLD 20 TIMES:

Ethicon, Inc., makes enough suture thread annually to wrap around the world 20 times along the equator, says Ed Dormier, the company's vice president for new technology. In addition, Ethicon makes more than a million surgical needles daily. Each type of suture contains anywhere from 100 to several thousand filaments, each about 10 microns in diameter, braided together. (A micron is about 40 millionths of an inch.)  [Less] [Link to this slide]

SEWING THE STERNUM:

Surgical needles are as diverse as the sutures themselves, with some no larger than an eyelash and others nearly the length of an index finger. Many of these needles are made from steel (Ethicon has its own patented Ethalloy steel)....[More]

SEWING THE STERNUM:

Surgical needles are as diverse as the sutures themselves, with some no larger than an eyelash and others nearly the length of an index finger. Many of these needles are made from steel (Ethicon has its own patented Ethalloy steel). The smallest needles, measuring 2.8 thousandths of an inch (less than 70 microns) in diameter, are used to repair nerves, whereas thicker needles (such as the one shown here) are required for stitching up tougher body parts, such as the sternum. "The sharper the needle, the finer the cut, and the faster it heals," says Frank Cichocki, an Ethicon staff engineer.  [Less] [Link to this slide]

HOLDING FIRM UNDER PRESSURE:

Available in Europe since 2007, Ethicon's Prineo Skin Closure System combines self-adhering mesh and a topical skin adhesive as an alternative to sutures in some instances....[More]

HOLDING FIRM UNDER PRESSURE:

Available in Europe since 2007, Ethicon's Prineo Skin Closure System combines self-adhering mesh and a topical skin adhesive as an alternative to sutures in some instances. Prineo is designed to hold a wound together even when the body exerts pressure on the opening. The system is capable of withstanding 150 pounds per square inch of pressure, roughly the equivalent to what it would experience if the patient were running, jumping and coughing, says Upvan Narang, director of marketing for Ethicon's New Product Development division.  [Less] [Link to this slide]

SURGICAL MESH:

Surgeons often use pieces of mesh to repair a protruding wound, such as a hernia. This mesh consists of polymer fibers woven together in patches that adhere to a wound area....[More]

SURGICAL MESH:

Surgeons often use pieces of mesh to repair a protruding wound, such as a hernia. This mesh consists of polymer fibers woven together in patches that adhere to a wound area. As the wound heals, "the body itself provides the spackle" that holds the mesh in place, Dormier says. Ethicon in 2001 introduced a softer version of its Prolene mesh designed to retain the strength of the original mesh while being more comfortable for the patient. As the wound heals, some strands of the mesh are even absorbed by the body. Newer UltraPro Mesh, which Ethicon says is the only partially absorbable mesh available in the U.S., is constructed of both nonabsorbable and absorbable materials.  [Less] [Link to this slide]

Sutures and mesh are made from polymer chips like the ones seen here. They are later stretched into fibers and woven together into braided sutures and mesh patches that adhere to a wound area.