Patent ID: 8821539

Claim:
A barbed suture comprising: a flexible thread having a leading end, a trailing end, a central axis extending along the length of said flexible thread between the leading and the trailing ends, and an outer surface surrounding the central axis; a first elongated channel formed in and extending straight along the length of said flexible thread between the outer surface and the central axis of said flexible thread to define a first flexible flap extending along the length of said flexible thread, said first flexible flap having a base connected with a core section of said flexible thread and a free tip spaced from said base, wherein said first flexible flap, when said flexible thread is in an undeflected state, has a concave inner surface and a convex outer surface that defines the outer surface of said flexible thread; and a plurality of slots formed in said first flexible flap for dividing said first flexible flap into a plurality of barbs, each of said plurality of slots extending outwardly from the core section of said flexible thread and rearwardly toward the trailing end of said flexible thread, and each of said plurality of barbs including a portion of said concave inner surface and said convex outer surface of said first flexible flap.