| abstract |
A barbed suture for connecting tissue, and a combination surgical needle wit h a barbed suture. The suture includes an elongated body and a plurality of barbs projecting from the body. Each barb causes the suture to resist moveme nt in an opposite direction from which the barb faces. The disposition of the barbs on the body may be staggered, twist cut multiple spiral, overlapping, or random. Also, the configuration of the barbs may be a certain spirality angl e .alpha., barb cut angle .theta., barb cut depth, barb cut length, barb cut distance, corrugated barb underside, arcuate barb base, or varying barb size . |