
Plain catgut is usually having shorter absorption periods and is absorbed more rapidly in infected areas. . The percentage of collagen in the catgut suture often determines the quality of the suture.
What is plain catgut suture?
Plain Catgut Suture is a fast-absorbing monofilament natural surgical gut suture made by twisting together strand of Collagenous material taken from the submucosal layers of the small intestine of healthy sheep and goat. Fast absorbing surgical gut suture are sterile and elicit only to a minimal tissue reaction during the absorption.
What is plain catgut used for?
The plain catgut is a widely used natural material to make the chromic catgut absorbable suture. This particular material is procured from the submucosa of the intestine of the sheep, or it can also be derived from the serosa of the cattle intestine.
What is catgut made out of?
Catgut is another fibre from biological origin derived from the small intestines of sheep, oxen, horse and ass. Catgut and collagen are the two most well-known natural materials for absorbable sutures. Both catgut and reconstituted collagen sutures share similar biochemical origin: collagen.
What is catgut (unigut)?
Catgut (Unigut) is a suture made from strand of Collagenous material prepared from the submucosal layer of small intestine of healthy Sheep or goat. Catgut chromic (Unigut Chromic) is treated with chrome salts which will delay the absorption.

What is the difference between plain and chromic catgut?
Plain catgut generally has strength retention for about 7 days once in contact with tissue, while chromic catgut has about twice the retention time. Catgut is easily handled but has poor knot security.
Is plain catgut absorbable?
The Simple Catgut is a natural-animal absorbable suture of twisted multifilament structure/monofilament. Contributes to develop a knot with high tensile strength. The absorption mechanism of this suture is phagocytosis: being digested by the enzymes in the body, and completely reabsorbed in a term of 70 to 90 days.
How many types of catgut are there?
Catgut is extracted from the intestines of sheep or goats. There are two types used for sutures: plain and chromic. Both are monofilament type. Chromic is treated with chrome salts (brown color) which slows the absorption process in the body and minimizes the tissue reaction in surrounding tissues.
What is a catgut called?
Catgut (also known as gut) is a type of cord that is prepared from the natural fiber found in the walls of animal intestines. Catgut makers usually use sheep or goat intestines, but occasionally use the intestines of cattle, hogs, horses, mules, or donkeys.
Why is it called catgut?
The word catgut is derived from the term kitgut or kitstring (the string used on a kit, or fiddle). Misinterpretation of the word kit as referring to a young cat led to the use of the term catgut.
What is the difference between catgut and Vicryl?
Chromic catgut suture material is treated in order to slow down the digestive process and decrease the inflammatory reaction. Polyglycolic acid (Dexon) and polyglactin (Vicryl) are synthetic materials and they are both reported to cause less tissue reaction because they are absorbed by hydrolysis.
What is plain gut suture made of?
Plain, Mild, and Chromic Gut sutures are absorbable sterile surgical sutures composed of purified connective tissue (mostly collagen) derived from the serosal layer of beef (bovine) intestines. No other animal sources are used to make our Gut sutures.
What is catgut made of?
Catgut, another protein fibre of biological origin, is derived from the small intestines of animals, mostly sheep or oxen. In order to obtain catgut, the intestinal tracts of cattle, after removing soft tissue and other residues by mechanical and chemical stripping processes, are treated with chromic salt solution.
What are the 3 types of sutures?
Nylon. A natural monofilament suture. Polypropylene (Prolene). A synthetic monofilament suture.
How long does plain gut take to dissolve?
Plain gut is untreated. Absorption in 10-14 days. Fast-absorbing gut is head-treated to increase absorption rate. Absorption in 7 days.
How was catgut created?
They were first described as far back 3000 BC in ancient Egyptian literature. For centuries they were made from plant materials like hemp, or cotton or animal material such as tendons, silk, and arteries. The material of choice for many centuries was catgut, a fine thread woven from sheep intestines.
How strong is catgut?
What remains is catgut string; pound for pound, one of the strongest strings there is. In that regard, it's stronger than a comparable weight of steel wire, in fact. Various gauges (diameters) of catgut are produced, depending on what its ultimate use is to be. There are three main industries where catgut is used.
What is plain catgut?
Plain Catgut (Unigut) is a suture made from strand of Collagenous material prepared from the submucosal layer of small intestine of healthy Sheep o...
What is catgut used for?
Catgut (Unigut) sutures has high knot-pull tensile strength and due to this excellent handling features, catgut (Unigut)) is used for all the surgi...
Is plain catgut absorbable?
Yes, it is the fastest absorbable natural suture.
Is catgut still used in surgery?
Yes, catgut (Unigut) is used for all the surgical procedures as per the surgeon’s choice.
Is chromic gut suture absorbable?
Yes, it is absorbable natural suture.
Is catgut a monofilament?
It is twisted multifilament structure with a monofilament appearance.
What is a catgut in medicine?
Catgut (Unigut) sutures is a medical device generally used for the closing wounds. Catgut (Unigut) suture is used for all the surgical procedures d...
How long does plain gut take to dissolve?
Plain catgut (Unigut plain) suture initial tensile strength is lost within 7 to 10 days and is absorbed completely in 60 to 70 days.
What is catgut made of?
Catgut (Unigut) suture made of strand of Collagenous material prepared from the submucosal layer of small intestine of healthy Sheep or goat.
How long does it take for catgut stitches to dissolve?
Catgut (Unigut) is of two types- Catgut chromic (Unigut Chromic) and Catgut plain (Unigut Plain). Catgut chromic (Unigut Chromic) gets absorbed com...
Etymology
The word catgut may have been an abbreviation of the word "cattlegut". Alternatively, it may derive by folk etymology from kitgut or kitstring —the word kit, meaning fiddle, having at some point been confused with the word kit for a young cat, the word "kit" being possibly derived from Welsh.
Common uses
For a long time, catgut was the most common material for the strings of harps, lutes, violins, violas, cellos, and double basses, acoustic guitars and other stringed musical instruments, as well as older marching snare drums.
Production
To prepare catgut, workers clean the small intestines, free them from any fat, and steep them in water. Then they scrape off the external membrane with a blunt knife, and steep the intestines again for some time in potassium hydroxide. Then they smooth and equalize the intestines by drawing them out. Lean animals yield the toughest gut.
Materials for absorbable and nonabsorbable surgical sutures
Catgut and collagen are the two most well-known natural materials for absorbable sutures. Both catgut and reconstituted collagen sutures share similar biochemical origin: collagen. The majority are based on type I collagen because of its abundance.
Techniques and Geometry of Wound Repair
Jeffrey Weinzweig MD, FACS,, Norman Weinzweig MD, FACS, in Plastic Surgery Secrets Plus (Second Edition), 2010
Management of Labor
Kent Petrie MD, ... Walter L. Larimore MD, in Family Medicine Obstetrics (Third Edition), 2008
Müller's Muscle–Conjunctival Resection–Ptosis Procedure Combined with Upper Blepharoplasty
Allen M. Putterman, Steven Fagien, in Putterman's Cosmetic Oculoplastic Surgery (Fourth Edition), 2008
Cheek–Midface Lift
Allen M. Putterman, in Putterman's Cosmetic Oculoplastic Surgery (Fourth Edition), 2008
Types and properties of surgical sutures
Table 10.A.1. List of commercially available sutures and their manufacturers
Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Applications of Polymers
Pran Kishore Deb, ... Rakesh K. Tekade, in Basic Fundamentals of Drug Delivery, 2019
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Manufacture
Catgut suture is made by twisting together strands of purified collagen taken from the serosal or submucosal layer of the small intestine of healthy ruminants ( cattle, sheep, goats) or from beef tendon. The natural plain thread is precision ground in order to achieve a monofilament character and treated with a glycerol -containing solution.
Variants
Catgut Chrome (B Braun) suture is a variant treated with chromic acid salts. This treatment produces roughly twice the stitch-holding time of plain catgut, but greater tissue inflammation occurs. Full tensile strength is extended to 18–21 days.
History
The first known absorbable sutures were made of the intestines of sheep. The manufacturing process was similar to that of natural musical strings for violins and guitar, and also of natural strings for tennis racquets.
