Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 2018 May;66(5):661-664.
doi: 10.4103/ijo.IJO_654_17.

Comparative analysis of non-absorbable 10-0 nylon sutures with absorbable 10-0 Vicryl sutures in pediatric cataract surgery

Jyoti Matalia  1 , Pratibha Panmand  1 , Pooja Ghalla  1
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Comparative analysis of non-absorbable 10-0 nylon sutures with absorbable 10-0 Vicryl sutures in pediatric cataract surgery

Jyoti Matalia et al. Indian J Ophthalmol. 2018 May.

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to compare the efficiency as well as the rate and type of suture-related complications between 10-0 monofilament nylon (Aurolab Nylon Sutures, double arm, Aurolab) and 10-0 polyglactin 910 sutures (Vicryl, single arm, Aurolab) for pediatric cataract surgery.

Methods: It is a prospective, comparative study performed in children who underwent surgery for congenital or developmental cataract from March 2013 to February 2016. Patients underwent suturing with either nylon or Vicryl in unilateral cases, but in most bilateral surgeries, one eye received Vicryl sutures while the other eye received nylon. The sutures were compared for their complications and the need for suture removal.

Results: Forty-one children (72 eyes) were included in the study, of which 31 children (62 eyes) underwent bilateral surgery while 10 (10 eyes) underwent unilateral surgery. Sixty-four nylon sutures were placed in 32 children (34 eyes), of which 22 (34.4%) were removed due to suture-related complications, whereas 14 (19.7%) (P = 0.03) of the 71 Vicryl sutures placed in 32 children (38 eyes) needed suture removal at an average of 2.9 weeks with the earliest at 6 days postoperatively. The odds of Vicryl suture being removed was 0.42 times with respect to nylon. The most common reason encountered for suture removal in both the materials was sutures becoming loose (16.3%), followed by vascularization (14.1%), infiltration (1.5%), and opacification (4.4%).

Conclusion: Absorbable suture such as 10-0 Vicryl is preferred over nonabsorbable suture 10-0 nylon for suturing incisions in pediatric cataract surgery, to avoid subjecting the child to repeated anesthesia.

Keywords: Absorbable; nonabsorbable suture material; pediatric cataract surgery; sutures in pediatric cataract.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

There are no conflicts of interest

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Normal suture, with knot buried and approximating the wound appropriately
Figure 2
Figure 2
Suture-related complications (a) Vascularization (black arrow) needing suture removal, (b) Opacification (red arrow), suture getting absorbed, not removed, (c) Loose and vascularized (white arrow) suture, needing removal, (d) Loose suture with infiltration (yellow arrow), requiring removal, (e) Loose suture (white arrowhead)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

References

    1. MacEwen CJ, Baines PS, Desai P. Eye injuries in children: The current picture. Br J Ophthalmol. 1999;83:933–6. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bradfield YS, Plager DA, Neely DE, Sprunger DT, Sondhi N. Astigmatism after small incision clear corneal cataract extraction and intraocular lens implantation in children. J Cataract Refract Surg. 2004;30:1948–52. - PubMed
    1. Alexandrakis G, Peterseim MM, Wilson ME. Clinical outcomes of pars plana capsulotomy with anterior vitrectomy in pediatric cataract surgery. J AAPOS. 2002;6:163–7. - PubMed
    1. Biglin AW. Ophthalmic Surgery: Principles and Techniques. In: Albert DM, editor. Paediatric cataract surgery. Massachusetts: Blackwell Sciences; 1999. pp. 970–1014.
    1. Ethicon Wound Closure Manual. Ethicon, Inc.; 2007. Available from: http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/surgery/Education/facilities/measey/Wound_Clos... .

Publication types