Serag Weissner Sutures: Guide to Use and Storage

In the realm of veterinary surgery products, knowing your way around sutures is crucial. Knowing which suture to use in a particular situation and how to store them to preserve their quality are both essential.

Here at Ethical Agents, we’re proud providers of a wide range of Serag Weissner sutures. Our selection contains sutures of every kind, enabling our customers to access high-quality supplies that work for their practice. If you’re ordering a resupply for your clinic or simply brushing up on the different kinds of sutures, read on for our full breakdown of their use and storage, in a clinical context.

The Suture Breakdown: Absorbable vs. Non-Absorbable

A key consideration when choosing the type of suture to use on a patient is whether the suture is absorbable or non-absorbable.

Absorbable Sutures

In cases where optical cosmetic results are required or skin heals quickly and cleanly, absorbable sutures are the ideal selection. These are designed to break down over time, gradually absorbing into the patient’s tissue and leaving nothing behind to impede clean healing.

You can choose between sutures with short, medium, and long-term absorbability. In other words, you dictate how long it takes for them to absorb. For wounds that heal quickly (such as wounds in the mouth), short-term absorbability is best, whereas medium or long-term is best for other tissues.

Non-Absorbable Sutures

Non-absorbable sutures must be removed once a wound is healed and are typically known for being strong and non-corroding. Examples of materials used for this kind of suture include polymers, non-corroding stainless steel, and natural materials like silk.

When choosing a suture from this category, it’s best to evaluate the type of material you are comfortable working with, the size of the suture, and how smoothly it can pass through tissues.

Usage Guidelines for Ethical Agents Sutures

Our wide range of animal wound care products offers a solution for any kind of wound, tissue, or surgery. While these usage guidelines are by no means comprehensive, they can help you decide which sutures to order for your next restock. Select any of the options for a more granular breakdown of their surgical indications.

Absorbable

• Serafit – Made from braided polymer and extremely pliable, this suture can be tied reliably (even in areas with a lot of blood or tissue secretions). It also moves smoothly through tissue without slicing through it. Medium absorption time is ideal for minimally invasive surgeries, gastroenterology, and oral surgery.
• Serapid – Designed to have a high knot tensile strength, this suture is also made from braided polymer. Special coating makes it easy to tie strong knots. Short absorption time is ideal for oral and maxillofacial surgery.
• Serafast – Known for its superb ease of handling and smooth passage through tissues, this monofilament suture is ideal for ligatures, skin closures, and cosmetic surgeries.
• Serasynth – With pliable handling and high liner and knot strength, this long-term absorbing suture is perfect for ligatures, vascular surgery, plastic surgery, and dermatology.

Non-Absorbable

• Seralon – Seralon is the best skin suture in the range, offering an extremely smooth passage through tissues, fine dimensions, and high tensile strength (both linear and knotted).
• Seraflex – Ideal for oral surgery, ligatures, or as a marking medium, Seraflex boasts excellent knot holding security and exceptionally smooth passage through tissues for easy handling.

How to Store Sutures Safely

Storing sutures is not just about maintaining the integrity of their structure. It’s also about keeping the different types separate from each other, as this will prevent the use of an incorrect suture for a particular application.

Most sutures are hermetically sealed in their packaging and only opened right before they are used. Therefore, it’s easy to store them almost anywhere. The most crucial thing to remember is to keep them at room temperature or cooler, as too much heat can degrade the sutures in their packaging. Suture racks or drawers will work well.

When it comes to organisation, we recommend organising sutures based on their material, absorbability, and whether they are poly- or monofilament sutures. This makes choosing the right one easy in a high-pressure situation.

Keep your clinic stocked up on the best vet supplies in NZ with Ethical Agents

We offer our customers easy and affordable access to the best vet supplies in NZ. With fast and reliable delivery, excellent customer service, and access to the largest R&D departments around the world, we can ensure your clinic is well-stocked with high-quality supplies to treat your patients.

Browse our range of surgical and animal health supplies today. If you have any queries, don’t hesitate to reach out to our dedicated team here.