histopathologic and biomechanical comparisons of the properties of skin, sutured with an iranian and a foreign brand silk suture in rat

purpose: since there have been some debates about using supa brand silk, this study was designed to elucidate the possible differences between supa and ethicon silk in suturing rat skin. materials & methods: this study was carried out on 60 female spragne-dawly albino rats. the animals were randomly assigned to two equal groups. in group one, 3/0 silk, supa product, and in group two, 3/0 silk ethicon product were used. following general anesthesia and surgical preparation, a 5 cm midline abdominal skin incision was made and sutured by a simple interrupted pattern. fifteen animlas of each group were sacrificed on day 6 for the histopathologic examination and the rest of the animals, on day 13 for histopathologic and biomechanical examinations. histopathologic sections were stained by h&e and examined under the light microscope for the re-epithelialization, acanthosis, age of granulation tissue, dermatitis, hyperemia, and presence of giant cells. results: there was no significant differences between the two groups on day 6 and 13 (p>0.05). in the biomechanical study, the following parameters were measured from load-elongation curves: the ultimate strength, ultimate strain, yield strain, stiffness, and maximum stored energy. regarding these factors, there was no significant differences between the groups either (p>0.05). conclusion: according to the results of this study and considering the price and availability, using supa silk can be recommended with confidence and reliability.