Vicryl (polyglactin 910) is an absorbable, synthetic, usually braided suture, manufactured by

Ethicon Inc. Ethicon, Inc., is a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson. The company is part of the Johnson & Johnson MedTech business segment. It was incorporated as a separate company under the Johnson & Johnson umbrella in 1949 to expand and diversify the Johnso ...

, a subsidiary of

Johnson and Johnson Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Pharmaceutical industry, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and Medical device, medical technologies corporation headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and publi ...

. A monofilament version is also made for use in ophthalmic practice. It is indicated for soft tissue approximation and

ligation Ligation may refer to: * Ligation (molecular biology), the covalent linking of two ends of DNA or RNA molecules * Chemical ligation, the chemoselective condensation of unprotected peptides * In medicine, the making of a ligature (tie) * Tubal liga ...

. The suture holds its tensile strength for approximately two to three weeks in tissue and is completely absorbed by acid

hydrolysis Hydrolysis (; ) is any chemical reaction in which a molecule of water breaks one or more chemical bonds. The term is used broadly for substitution reaction, substitution, elimination reaction, elimination, and solvation reactions in which water ...

within 8-10 weeks. Vicryl and other polyglycolic-acid sutures may also be treated for more rapid breakdown ("

Vicryl Rapide Vicryl (polyglactin 910) is an absorbable, synthetic, usually braided suture, manufactured by Ethicon Inc., a subsidiary of Johnson and Johnson. A monofilament version is also made for use in ophthalmic practice. It is indicated for soft tis ...

") in rapidly healing tissues such as mucous membrane or impregnated with

triclosan Triclosan (sometimes abbreviated as TCS) is an antibacterial and antifungal agent present in some consumer products, including toothpaste, soaps, detergents, toys, and surgical cleaning treatments. It is similar in its uses and mechanism of act ...

Vicryl Plus Antibacterial Vicryl (polyglactin 910) is an absorbable, synthetic, usually braided suture, manufactured by Ethicon Inc., a subsidiary of Johnson and Johnson. A monofilament version is also made for use in ophthalmic practice. It is indicated for soft tis ...

") to provide antimicrobial protection of the suture line. Because Vicryl is slow-absorbing and often braided, its use is contraindicated in the closure of any cutaneous wound exposed to the air, as it draws moisture from the healing tissue to the skin and allows bacteria and irritants to migrate into the wound. This may lead to high reactivity to the contaminants, poor wound healing, and eventually infection. Although the name "Vicryl" is a trademark of

Ethicon Ethicon, Inc., is a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson. The company is part of the Johnson & Johnson MedTech business segment. It was incorporated as a separate company under the Johnson & Johnson umbrella in 1949 to expand and diversify the Johns ...

, the term "vicryl" has been used generically referring to any synthetic absorbable suture made primarily of polyglycolic acid. Other brands of polyglycolic acid suture include PolySyn, Surgicryl, Polysorb, and

Dexon Polyglycolide or poly(glycolic acid) (PGA), also spelled as polyglycolic acid, is a biodegradable, thermoplastic polymer and the simplest linear, aliphatic polyester. It can be prepared starting from glycolic acid by means of polycondensation or ...

, all of which are manufactured by different companies. Vicryl is a copolymer of

lactide Lactide is the lactone cyclic ester derived by multiple esterification between two (usually) or more molecules from lactic acid (2-hydroxypropionic acid) or other hydroxy carboxylic acid. They are designated as dilactides, trilactides, etc., acc ...

(a bis

lactone Lactones are cyclic carboxylic esters. They are derived from the corresponding hydroxycarboxylic acids by esterification. They can be saturated or unsaturated. Lactones are formed by lactonization, the intramolecular esterification of the corresp ...

lactic acid Lactic acid is an organic acid. It has the molecular formula C3H6O3. It is white in the solid state and it is miscible with water. When in the dissolved state, it forms a colorless solution. Production includes both artificial synthesis as wel ...

) and

glycolide Glycolide (1,4-dioxane-2,5-dione) is a dimer of glycolic acid. Its structure is six-membered ring containing two lactones, an oxidized variant of ''p''-dioxane. The compound can be synthesized from glycolic acid, via a high-temperature oligomeri ...

(a bislactone of

glycolic acid Glycolic acid (or hydroxyacetic acid; chemical formula ) is a colorless, odorless and hygroscopic crystal, crystalline solid, highly solubility, soluble in water. It is used in various skin care, skin-care products. Glycolic acid is widespread in ...

). In practice, Vicryl comes braided, dyed or undyed with the following decay schedule: 75% at two weeks, 50% at three weeks, and 25% at four weeks (i.e., the sutures retain that proportion of tensile strength at those dates).

References

Surgical suture material {{surgery-stub