Catgut and its Use in Plastic Surgery

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to review the origin, physical properties, advantages, and usage of catgut in plastic surgery and oral surgery. In PubMed search, the search terms (“catgut” AND [“plastic surgery” OR “facelift”]) and (“catgut” AND “oral surgery”) were used, resulting in 28 and 30 papers, respectively. Of those 58 papers, 31 papers were excluded. Eight other papers were added; therefore, 35 papers were analyzed. Catgut has been used in cleft palate surgery since 1938. In 1976, it was used in a superficial wound with anti-tension taping. In the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, catgut was used in otoplasty, scrotoplasty, hemostasis of neurofibroma, blepharoplasty, ptosis surgery, and rhytidectomy. From the 2000s until the present day, it has been preferred in many fields of plastic surgery, including pediatric lacerations and conjunctiva sutures. In oral wound repairs and tonsillectomy, catgut has been used from the 1970s to the present. Many studies have compared catgut with other suture materials in terms of wound healing, inflammatory reaction, and longevity, and their respective advantages and disadvantages continue to be discussed. The advantages of catgut as a suture material are as follows: 1, The fundamental advantage of catgut is its absorbability. 2, Catgut has excellent tensile strength. 3, Sterility, when catgut is taken from a sealed tube, is assured. 4, Hardened, or ‘chromed,’ catgut is preferable to the ‘plain’ variety. 5, The finest possible size should be used in preference to thicker sizes. Catgut sutures are still widely used in plastic surgery and oral surgery.

Gastrointestinal nematodiasis of goats in Somali pastoral areas, Ethiopia

“…Additionally, their meat is a rich source of protein and can aid in reducing the protein malnutrition gap among consumers ( Nair et al, 2021 ). The goat intestine is used to make the catgut, which is still used as a material for internal human surgical sutures and strings for musical instruments ( Kim et al, 2020 ).…”

Catgut Versus Polypropylene Sutures for Transcolumellar Incision Closure in Open Rhinoplasty: A Retrospective Cohort Study

“…The results suggested that none of the suture materials hindered wound healing, and there was a low incidence of wound complications with all of the used suture materials that did not reach statistical significance [ 19 ]. Other reports advocate the use of catgut as an absorbable suture as it is absorbable, has good tensile strength, is more comfortable for the patients as it spares them the pain of suture removal, leads to excellent wound healing, and has comparable rates of complications to other absorbable and non-absorbable suture materials [ 14 , 15 , 19 , 20 ].…”

Biocompatibility Testing for Implants: A Novel Tool for Selection and Characterization

“…Catgut's capacity for withstanding tension and its ability to last make it the perfect material for sutures [12].…”

“…Ongoing research aims to further explore the properties of catgut and develop new methods for their use, potentially finding applications in other medical fields. While catgut has limitations, its unique properties and potential benefits make it an area of focus for research and development in the medical field [12].…”