Patent ID: 8663277

Claim:
A surgical suture comprising: a plurality of unbarbed filamentary elements intertwined with one another; at least one barbed monofilament element having a length extending continuously along a longitudinal axis and having a plurality of barbs extending outwardly therefrom in a first direction less than 90 degrees from the longitudinal axis; wherein the at least one barbed monofilament element is intertwined along its length with the plurality of unbarbed filamentary elements, and wherein the plurality of barbs extend outwardly beyond the unbarbed filamentary elements; and wherein the combination of barbed monofilament element and unbarbed filamentary elements collectively form a multifilament surgical suture having substantially a single longitudinal axis and adapted for surgical suture applications and having a holding strength greater than that of the at least one barbed monofilament.