Patent ID: 7329271

Claim:
A surgical suture, comprising: an inner core comprising at least one yarn comprised of at least one fiber, said fiber comprising a bioabsorbable polymer; and, an outer braided sheath comprising a second yarn comprised of at least one nonabsorbable fiber and a third yarn comprising at least one bioabsorbable fiber, wherein the second and third yarns are in intertwining contact, and wherein the bioabsorbable first and bioabsorbable third yarns comprise a polymer prepared from lactone monomers selected from the group consisting of p-dioxanone, ε-caprolactone, glycolide, L(−)-lactide, D(+)-lactide, meso-lactide, trimethylene carbonate, and combinations thereof, and wherein the nonabsorbable fiber comprises ultra high molecular weight polyethylene, and wherein the suture comprises about 55 wt. % to about 70 wt. % of bioabsorbable polymer.