Barbed sutures having pledget stoppers and methods therefor

摘要

A surgical suture (100) includes an elongated core (106) having a first leg (102) and a second leg (104), a first set of barbs (108) projecting from the first leg of the core, and a second set of barbs (110) projecting from the second leg of the core. The suture has a stop (114) projecting from the core that is located between the first and second sets of barbs, and a braid (450) surrounding the elongated core and the stop for strengthening the suture. The suture includes a pledget (440) having first (438A) and second (438B) openings extending therethrough, with the first leg extending through the first pledget opening, the second leg extending through the second pledget opening, and the stop extending between the first and second pledget openings.