A staple cartridge assembly for use with a surgical stapling instrument includes a staple cartridge including a plurality of staples and a cartridge deck. The staple cartridge assembly also includes a compressible adjunct positionable against the cartridge deck, wherein the staples are deployable into tissue captured against the compressible adjunct, and wherein the compressible adjunct comprises a first biocompatible layer comprising a first portion, a second biocompatible layer comprising a second portion, and crossed spacer fibers extending between the first portion and the second portion.

A twelve-dimensional barbed surgical thread that includes a central core and twelve first barbs. The central core has a circumference, a proximal end and a distal end that is opposite the proximal end. The twelve first barbs are positioned around the circumference of the central core so that the first barbs are radially adjacent to each other and obliquely extend from the central core.

A self-sterilizing wound dressing is disclosed. The wound dressing comprises a substrate having a first surface facing at least a portion of a wound or a surgical site and a second surface facing opposite to the first surface. At least one surface of the substrate comprises a sulfonated polymer selected from the group of perfluorosulfonic acid polymers, polystyrene sulfonates, sulfonated block copolymers, sulfonated polyolefins, sulfonated polyimides, sulfonated polyamides, sulfonated polyesters, sulfonated polysulfones, sulfonated polyketones, sulfonated poly(arylene ether), and mixtures thereof. The sulfonated polymer is sufficiently or selectively sulfonated to contain from 10-100 mol % sulfonic acid or sulfonate salt functional groups based on the number of monomer units, for killing at least 90% of microbes in less than 120 minutes of coming into contact with the wound dressing.

Methods for forming an implantable layer onto a staple cartridge are disclosed.

A medical polymer device comprising a biodegradable polymer is provided, wherein the biodegradable polymer has a crystallinity of about 10% to about 80%, and preferably from about 20% to about 60%, wherein the medical polymer device comprises a small molecule organic compound which diffuses into the biodegradable polymer, the small molecule organic compound has a molecular weight of from about 100 to about 1000 Daltons, preferably from about 150 to about 500 Daltons, and more preferably from about 150 to about 250 Daltons, and the small molecule organic compound is non-evaporating or low-evaporating. The present invention also provides a method for preparing a medical polymer device according to the present invention as well as a method for modifying a medical polymer device made from a biodegradable polymer.

The present invention relates to a surgical suture having excellent biocompatibility and low friction, and to a method for manufacturing same. The suture according to the present invention has excellent biocompatibility and low friction, thereby reducing pain that may occur in a patient during suturing and minimizing the occurrence of inflammation in cells at a suture site, and also has excellent contact properties with cells, thereby capable of being used for various medical and surgical operations.

The present invention relates to a photo-cross-linkable shape-memory polymer and a preparation method therefor. The shape-memory polymer according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises a photo-cross-linkable functional group, and thus a shape-memory polymer having a melting point suitable for a physiological or medical application device can be provided. Particularly, a method for preparing the shape-memory polymer, according to one embodiment of the present invention, uses a catalyst for inducing the simultaneous ring-opening polymerization of two monomers (CL, GMA) during synthesis of the shape-memory polymer, thereby enabling the synthesis time of the shape-memory polymer to be reduced, and shape-memory polymers having various melting points can be readily prepared by controlling the introduction amounts of CL and GMA.

An absorbable iron-based instrument is provided having an iron-based substrate, a zinc-containing protector in contact with the iron-based substrate, and a degradable polyester in contact with the iron-based substrate and/or the zinc-containing protector. The range of the ratio of the mass of the zinc-containing protector to the mass of the iron-based substrate is 1:200 to 1:2. In the degradable polyester, the mass fraction of a low-molecular-weight part with a molecular weight of less than 10,000 is less than or equal to 5%; alternatively, in the degradable polyester, the mass fraction of a residual monomer is less than or equal to 2%.

A braided structure that includes a core and a sheath is provided. The core includes a yarn formed at least in part from an aromatic polymer (e.g., an aromatic polyester/liquid crystalline polymer or an aramid polymer), and the sheath, which includes a plurality of ultra high molecular weight polyolefin yarns, is braided around the core. The sheath has an overall diameter ranging from about 60 micrometers to about 650 micrometers. Despite its small diameter, the braided structure can be creep resistant and abrasion resistant while at the same time exhibiting low elongation, a high load at break, and high stiffness. The braided structure can be used in medical applications such as sutures, load bearing orthopedic applications, artificial tendons/ligaments, fixation devices, actuation cables, components for tissue repair, etc.

A braided structure that includes a core and a sheath is provided. The core includes a yarn formed at least in part from an aromatic polymer (e.g., an aromatic polyester/liquid crystalline polymer or an aramid polymer), and the sheath, which includes a plurality of ultra high molecular weight polyolefin yarns, is braided around the core. The sheath has an overall diameter ranging from about 60 micrometers to about 650 micrometers. Despite its small diameter, the braided structure can be creep resistant and abrasion resistant while at the same time exhibiting low elongation, a high load at break, and high stiffness. The braided structure can be used in medical applications such as sutures, load bearing orthopedic applications, artificial tendons/ligaments, fixation devices, actuation cables, components for tissue repair, etc.