Patent ID: 8821540

Claim:
A self-retaining suture formed from stock monofilament of a bioabsorbable polymer, the stock monofilament having a filament diameter (SD) and a tensile strength, wherein the self-retaining suture comprises: a strand of said stock monofilament, the strand having a first end, a second end, a longitudinal axis, and a surface; a plurality of cuts made into the surface of the strand; the cuts extending from a beginning at the surface to an end within the strand, the plurality of cuts defining a plurality of barbs adapted to permit movement of the strand through tissue towards the first end and resist movement in an opposite direction; each barb having a tip separated from the strand and a base connected to the strand at the end of the cut, and further having an underside which attaches the barb to the strand along a concave arcuate line; each barb having a length no less than about 0.8 filament diameters (0.8*SD), measured tip-to-base along the longitudinal axis; adjacent barbs being distributed at a spacing no larger than two filament diameters (2*SD), measured tip-to-tip along the longitudinal axis; each barb having a ratio of cut depth to SD from about 0.05 to about 0.5; each barb having a cut angle formed between the barb and the strand from about 140 degrees to about 175 degrees; and the self-retaining suture having a tensile strength no less than about one third of the tensile strength of the stock monofilament from which the self-retaining suture is made.