Ethicon, Gmbh

Alastair W Hunter

Rao S Bezwada

Shalaby Wahba Shalaby

Dennis D Jamiolkowski

Henry Pokropinski, Jr

Steven C Arnold

Semyon Shchervinsky

Constance E Roshdy

Chao C Chen

Walter McGregor

Mark G Steckel

Donald G Hill

Darrell R Thompson

Margaret M D'Aversa

Vishvaroop Agarwal

Howard L Scalzo, Jr

Arthur Taylor

Lyn Freeman

Karl W Brennan

Richard C Kindberg

The present invention discloses a process for producing a braided suture having an improved knot strength comprising heating a braided suture coated with a low molecular weight biocompatible polymer to a temperature sufficient to melt the low molecular weight biocompatible polymer for a time sufficient to allow the low molecular polymer to be redistributed into the interstices of the braided suture thereby providing a coated braided suture with an improved knot tensile strength. Also disclosed is the coated braided suture having a low molecular weight polymer optimally dispersed throughout the braided suture's cross-section.

Braided suture with improved knot strength and process to produce same

A suture having a coating thereon of an ethylene-propylene copolymer, and a method of coating a suture which comprises the steps of coating the surface of the suture with an effective amount of a solution of ethylene-propylene copolymer in an organic solvent, and then removing the solvent from the coated suture. The copolymer preferably has an average molecular weight of from about 25,000 to about 500,000 g/mole, and a mole percentage of about 55 to 70 percent ethylene and about 30 to 45 percent propylene. The coating provides an alternative to silicone, which has previously been used as a coating for sutures, and exhibits excellent performance properties, such as tactile smoothness, pliability, and knot tiedown performance.

Ethylene-propylene coatings for sutures

The present invention provides a coating mixture composed of a solvent selected from the group consisting of ethyl acetate, ethyl acetate/ethanol, n-propyl acetate/acetone, isopropyl acetate/ethanol, ethyl acetate/acetone and blends thereof; a biocompatable polymer and optionally a fatty acid salt. The present invention also provides a process for coating surgical articles comprising forming a coating mixture, contacting a surgical article with the coating mixture; and drying the coated surgical article to substantially remove the solvent.

Coating mixture for surgical articles

This invention provides various copolymers comprising a repeating unit of the chemical formula:

Copolymers of 1,4-dioxepan-2-one and

A polymer, particularly a biomedical polymer for the fabrication of medical and surgical devices and for use as a coating, is described. The polymer is derived from the reaction product of one or more lactone monomers and castor oil preferably: (a) .epsilon.-caprolactone, trimethylene carbonate or an ether lactone; (b) castor oil; and (c) glycolide, lactide or 1,4-dioxanone. The preferred polymer is derived from .epsilon.-caprolactone, castor oil, and glycolide. The polymer in preferred embodiments is ideally suited for use as a coating for a surgical suture, particularly an absorbable, braided multifilament suture and surgical needles. For this application, glycerol is advantageously added to the reactive monomer mix from which the polymer is derived.

Castor oil polymers

Heterogeneous braided multifilament of first and second set of yarns mechanically blended by braiding, in which first and second set of yarns are composed of different fiber-forming materials. Heterogeneous braids are useful for preparation of surgical sutures and ligatures.

Sterilized heterogeneous braids

A surgical suture having a coating thereon of at least one polyvinyl ester, and a method for improving the knot tiedown performance of a suture by first coating a polyvinyl ester solution onto the surface of the suture and then removing the solvent from the coated suture.

Suture coated with a polyvinyl ester

A medical device for enclosing an internal bodily organ or tissue during surgery comprising a filamentary strand with noose and free end portions, the free end portion enclosed within a cannula; a surgical bag with an opening, the bag attached to the noose portion at the open end of the bag; and a means for pulling the free end portion proximally to reduce the diameter of the noose portion so as to close the open end of the surgical bag.

Surgical device for enclosing an internal organ

A surgical suture having a coating thereon of a block poly(ether-co-amide), and a method for improving the knot tiedown performance of a suture by first coating a block poly(ether-co-amide) solution of a block poly(ether-co-amide) onto the surface of the suture and then removing the solvent from the coated suture.

Suture coated with a polyetheramide

A surgical suture having a coating thereon of a copolymer of a predominant amount of p-dioxanone and the balance .epsilon.-caprolactone, and a method for improving the knot tiedown performance of a suture by first coating a solution of the coating copolymer onto the surface of the suture and then removing the solvent from the coated suture.

Suture coated with a copolymer coating composition

Bioabsorbable copolymers comprising .rho.-dioxanone and AA-BB type polyalkylene carbonates are provided. The copolymers are useful in the fabrication of sterile surgical articles and bioabsorbable coatings for sutures and are produced from organic carbonates by way of prepolymeric synthetic intermediates.

Bioabsorbable copolymers of polyalkylene carbonate/RHO-dioxanone for

Copolymer of a predominant amount of .epsilon.-caprolactone, the balance being glycolide and glycolic acid. Coating for an absorbable, multifilament surgical suture prepared by dissolving the copolymer in an organic solvent.

Copolymers of .epsilon.-caprolactone, glycolide and glycolic acid for

A needle-suture combination is provided in which a lubricant layer is provided at the juncture between the needle and the suture and specifically between the inner surfaces of a recess in the blunt end of the needle and the outer surface of one tip of the suture which is inserted into the recess and in tight engagement with at least a portion of the inner surface of the recess. The lubricant lowers the pull-out value of the needle-suture combination.

Juncture-lubricated needle-suture combination

The tie-down characteristics of braided sutures are improved by applying to the surface thereof a polymeric ester of a dibasic acid and a glycol.

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Bridgewater, NJ, United States of America

Alastair W Hunter