Introduction: 3D printing technology has demonstrated great efficacy in ad hoc manufacturing of surgical supplies such as needle drivers, forceps, and tissue suture materials. 3D printed nylon sutures manufactured using a fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printer exhibited multiple advantages over commercial nylon and polybutester suture materials, including higher ultimate tensile strength and ultimate extension. A mouse model study was conducted to evaluate the healing of laceration wounds repaired using 3D printed nylon suture compared to commercial polybutester (Novafil) suture. Methods: The 3D printed sutures were manufactured using Ultimaker S3 FDM printers and nylon filament, then sterilized using ethylene oxide sterilization. Twenty mice were included in the study, each receiving a 2 cm dermal laceration along their back. Ten mice had their lacerations repaired with simple interrupted 3D printed nylon sutures, and ten with simple interrupted polybutester sutures. All mice underwent daily wound assessments for 7 days, followed by euthanasia and harvesting of local tissue around the laceration site for objective measurement of inflammatory response via FlowJo analysis of F4/80+/80+&CD45+ macrophages and cytokine array. Results: No wound complications, such as dehiscence or infection, were observed in either group. The mean CD45+&F4/80+ macrophage (%) for 3D printed and polybutester sutures was 29.3 and 27.7 (p=0.59, from 2 two sample t-tests), resulting in no statistically significant difference. Additionally, there was no significant difference in tissue inflammation when evaluating cytokine response. Conclusion: Data from this study suggests no difference in wound healing, infection, or inflammatory response between 3D printed nylon and polybutester sutures. The cost of manufacturing 3D-printed suture materials is significantly lower compared to the per-unit pricing of commercial suture materials. Furthermore, 3D printers provide the agency to produce critical supplies on an ad hoc basis with potential applications in low-resource medical scenarios such as rural/developing regions, war zones, or refugee encampments.
Nguyen et al. (Sun,) studied this question.