Laser-drilled cardiovascular surgical needles
✍ Scribed by Michael A. Towler; Cynthia G. Clapp; Walter McGregor; Raymond F. Morgan; Richard F. Edlich
- Publisher
- Wiley (John Wiley & Sons)
- Year
- 1991
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 565 KB
- Volume
- 2
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 1045-4861
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
Surgical sutures that are directly attached to the surgical needle ends are called swaged sutures. A forming tool has been used to split one-half of the wire diameter of cardiovascular needles that forms a channel or receptacle for the suture. With the advent of lasers, uniform holes can now be produced in the ends of small-diameter cardiovascular needles. An advantage of the laser-produced hole is that its outer circumference is smooth; the channel swage has a linear slit that interrupts its smooth outer circumference. A standardized reproducible test has been developed that quantitates the force required to pull the needle end through a synthetic membrane that simulates vascular tissue. A swage produced by a laser encountered significantly less drag forces than that noted with a comparable size channel swage of cardiovascular needles.