I was looking for a suture kit and found a few online. Are any of these kits "industrial grade"? Are they sterile and new?
I was also considering buying these supplies piece by piece from a medical supplier, but it'll be more convenient to purchase the entire kit all at once.

Sutures most of the time they are real deal. If seal is not broken they may even be sterile or if the experiation date is right. But most of the stuff I've seen only suture kits were sterile; kelly clamps, scalpels and all the other tools were just thrown into the bag so stuff looked impressive.

Three questions.

Do you having the training to suture wounds?
Where are you planning to suture? Field? Home?
What type of wounds do you believe need to be sutured outside of a medical setting?

Pete

This strikes me as one of those "If you have to ask it here, you're not qualified to do it" questions. <img src="/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

I mean, wouldn't a doctor, nurse or paramedic know whether a surgical kit was acceptable or not? And who else would be qualified to do it? <img src="/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

Suture kits are best used when your uniform rips in the middle of duty and you have no time for a change.

Suture self.

Polak,

Thanks, it looks I'm going to purchase these individually. I usually get all my supplies from allmed.net that would be the best source for this kit too.

Be safe.

Its not all about being trained to do it although it helps.

People have sutured themselves for thousands of years without a Harvard medical degree.

Even if you don't plan on suturing its nice to have the supplies so somone who has the background can use your supplies.

FLip

lmao <img src="/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />

Most of the suture kits which come in zippered bags are most certainly NOT sterile, though they may be new. If you need a sterile pack, these will come prepacked and SEALED with an expiration date.

Its also a better idea to get the sutures and the instrument pack seperately, since they have different expiry dates to their sterility.

A kit with no knowledge of how to use the kit is useless or at worst dangerous, whereas knowledge without a kit allows you to improvise solutions.

Pete:
I didn't see your questions earlier.

1: Yes some, in the military.
2 and 3: Both in the field and at home: I hike and go out camping very often. But, it would be nice to have a kit at home in case of an unfortunate event/disaster where transportation to/from the hospital is impossible or when local facilities are overwhelmed with more serious injuries than a cut to the leg or a ruptured tendon.

True, it can and has been done by generations of non-medical types. My main point in the asking the questions was to stimulate some discussion and thoughts as to why we want some particular (medical) equipment or supplies.

If you look through some of the past threads where the issue of field closure of wounds has been discussed, most point out that field closure of wounds is not only not warranted in most cases (most bleeding can be controlled with direct pressure, elevation and occasionally pressure points application) but can lead to both tissue necrosis (tissue death) due to improper suture technique and potentially dangerous infections.

Pete

I use butterfly strips and/or suture tape and have been patching myself up with them for many years with great success. It has saved me many a trip to the hospital for stitches. I however stop my bleeding with direct pressure and elevation ahead of time and also thoroughly clean the wound. At that point the butterfly sutures or suture tape is really just serving two purposes. 1) To minimize scarring and 2) to keep the wound from reopening once I close it.

Hudson25.. I notice you're new here so welcome to the forum.

To suture or not to suture is a deja' vu experience around this forum. Lots of history/threads.

I know you didn't ask about the ADVISABILITY, just availability. .. but I don't recall any experts responding here that it was ever a good idea to suture.. outside of the hospital! Check Trusbx, Paramedicpete, Polack, etc.

Someone correct me if my memory fades. "no good reason to suture.. in the field.. for emergencies.. etc. Irrigate, contol bleeding, bandage, then get to a medical provider in an aseptic setting for suturing"