ACCIDENTAL AND OPERATION WOUNDS 



53 



The principal continuous sutures are : simple continuous, 

 furrier's, Halsted's, and the purse, draw-string or tobacco- 

 pouch. 



The materials used are : silk, horsehair, wire, catgut, 

 kangaroo or reindeer tendon, silkworm gut, and linen thread. 

 Each of these can be obtained in various sizes. 



^^'hatever material is used must first be rendered aseptic, 

 or pus will form in the suture holes and retard the healing 

 process. Catgut and kangaroo tendon, especially the latter, 

 do not become absorbed for a considerable length of time, 

 and are valuable in cases \\'here it is required that the 

 sutures shall remain in for a long period ; thick silk and 



Fig. 30. — A ' Surgical ' Knot. 



Fig. 31. — A ' Granny' Knot. 



silkworm gut never become absorbed (usually they become 

 encysted), and silkworm gut is particularly good for suturing 

 the abdominal wall, because it does not possess capillarit}-. 

 This lessens the chance of infection from the exterior. 



Simple interrupted sutures are those in ^\■hich each suture 

 is complete in itself, and entirely separated from the others. 

 They are made b}- passing the needle and suture material 

 through the edges of the \\ound, and t\ing the suture care- 

 fully in some form of knot which is not liable to slip. The 

 best patterns of knot for this purpose are variously known as 

 a ■ surgical,' ' Staffordshire,' or ' reef ' knot, and is so arranged 

 that when completed the loose ends fall opposite to one 

 another at right angles to the wound, and directly over the 



