Comparison of inflammatory response to polyglytone 6211 and polyglecaprone 25 in a rat model.

972 The aim of this study was to compare polyglytone 6211 (Caprosyn) and polyglecaprone 25 (Monocryl) in intracuticular skin closure in a rat model. The inflammatory response to these two suturing materials was assessed. Comparative studies involving polyglytone 6211 could not be found, and little is known about the wound-healing properties of polyglytone 6211. Caprosyn is a new absorbable, synthetic, monofilament suturing material. The generic name is polyglytone 6211; it has a tensile strength of 10 days and an absorption profile of 56 days, and it is made by Tyco Healthcare (Halfway House, Gauteng, South Africa). The more familiar Monocryl is also an absorbable, synthetic, monofilament suturing material. The generic name is polyglecaprone 25, it has a tensile strength of 21 days and an absorption profile of 90-120 days, and it is made Tensile strength measures the time it takes for the suturing material to lose 70-80% of its initial tensile strength. Initial tensile strength is a measure of the amount of tension applied in a horizontal plane necessary to break the suturing material. The absorption profile indicates the time it takes for the suturing material to undergo mass absorption in human tissue. This absorption is accomplished by human phagocytes, for example tissue macrophages.