Suture to be used in producing medical instrument provided with sutured part, method for using same and medical instrument sewn using same

Abstract

A suture to be used in producing a medical instrument provided with a sutured site such as a stent graft, an artificial blood vessel or an artificial heart valve, namely, a suture for sewing a medical instrument. The suture comprises two components, i.e., a high melting-point component and a low-melting point component, the difference between the melting points of components being 30° C. or more and the low-melting point component is exposed on the suture surface entirely along the length direction. The suture is, for example, a multifilament yarn comprising a combination of a high melting-point filament ( 3 ) with a low-melting point filament ( 4 ) shown in FIG. 2 or a composite filament comprising the high melting-point component and the low-melting point component, or a yarn wherein the high melting-point component is coated with the low-melting point component. When a medical material formed of a fabric or a film is sutured or knotted with the suture and then the suture site is heated at such a temperature allowing not the high-melting point component but the low-melting point component alone to melt, the sutured site is fused and fixed. Thus, a knot or a seam, which sustains the fiber shape and strength and never becomes loose, can be formed.

1 . A suture for sewing a medical device comprising, a high-melting point component and a low-melting point component, wherein difference of melting points between said high-melting point component and low-melting point component is 30° C. or more and the low-melting point component is exposed on the suture surface along its whole length. 
     
     
         2 . The suture for sewing a medical device of  claim 1 , wherein the suture is a multifilament fiber which combines a filament with a high-melting point and a filament with a low-melting point. 
     
     
         3 . The suture for sewing a medical device of  claim 1 , wherein the suture is a hybrid type filament composed of a high-melting point component and a low-melting point component, further said hybrid type filament is at least one selected from a group consisting of side by side type, sea-island type, dividing type, and sheath-core type filaments. 
     
     
         4 . The suture for sewing a medical device of  claim 1 , wherein the suture is a fiber composed of a high-melting point component which is coated and impregnated with a low-melting point component. 
     
     
         5 . The suture for sewing a medical device according to  claim 1 , wherein the suture has a thermal shrinkage feature. 
     
     
         6 . The suture for sewing a medical device according to  claim 1 , wherein the suture is fixed to a sewing needle by inserting one end of the suture into the tail end of a cylindrical sewing needle and fixing it there by swaging. 
     
     
         7 . A method for fixing of a sutured site of a medical device made of fabric or film sutured according to  claim 1 , by fusion heating at a temperature that melts the low-melting point component but does not melt the high-melting point component. 
     
     
         8 . A method for fixing by fusion of a sutured site of a medical device made of a fabric or film suture according to  claim 1 , which was previously incorporated using said suture and which was then treated by heat at a temperature that melts the low-melting point component but does not melt the high-melting point component. 
     
     
         9 . A method for fixing by fusion a sutured site of a medical device made of fabric or film other than the medical material hitherto described by use of a suture made according to  claim 1 , and then treating by heat at a temperature that melts the low-melting point component but does not melt the high-melting point component. 
     
     
         10 . A medical device having a sutured site fixed by fusion using the method for fixing by fusion of a sutured site of a medical device according to  claim 7 . 
     
     
         11 . A stent graft prepared by suturing a fabric made of polyester fiber with a NiTi-based alloy wire using the suture for sewing a medical device and to fix the sutured site by the method for fixing by fusion of a sutured site of a medical device according to  claim 7 . 
     
     
         12 . A stent graft prepared by suturing a fabric made of polyester fiber to which the suture is incorporated with a NiTi-based alloy wire and by fixing the sutured site by the method for fixing by fusion of a sutured site of a medical device according to  claim 7 . 
     
     
         13 . An artificial vascular graft made of polyester fiber prepared by suturing a bifurcation and/or a branch to an artificial vascular graft with the suture and by fixing the sutured site by the method for fixing by fusion of the sutured site of a medical device according to  claim 7 . 
     
     
         14 . An artificial vascular graft made of polyester fiber prepared by suturing a bifurcation and/or a branch to which the suture was incorporated in a part to be shunted and by fixing said sutured site by the method for fixing by fusion of the sutured site of a medical device according to  claim 7 . 
     
     
         15 . An artificial heart valve prepared by suturing a fabric of polyester fiber to a stent site of the artificial heart valve with the suture by the method for fixing by fusing of the sutured site of a medical device according to  claim 7 .