Bursting strength of surgeon's and self-locking knots for closure of ventral midline celiotomy in horses.

Summary

# Bursting Strength of Surgical Knots in Equine Celiotomy Closure Ventral midline incisions following colic surgery must be closed securely to withstand considerable intra-abdominal pressure, yet little evidence exists comparing the mechanical performance of different knot combinations used in equine practice. Researchers tested two closure techniques on cadaveric tissue: a traditional surgeon's knot at both start and end (S-S), and a novel self-locking combination using a forwarder start with an Aberdeen end knot (F-A), both incorporated into a simple continuous suture pattern. The F-A combination demonstrated significantly greater bursting strength than S-S closures, with results suggesting improved resistance to failure under the tension typical of healing incisions. For equine surgeons, these findings support consideration of the self-locking knot pairing as a potentially more robust option for ventral midline closure, though clinical outcomes and practical handling characteristics during surgery should be evaluated alongside these biomechanical advantages before widespread protocol changes are implemented.

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Key Findings

• •Compared bursting strength of two knot combinations (forwarder-Aberdeen vs surgeon-surgeon) for equine abdominal closure using simple continuous suture patterns
• •Study evaluated failure modes and structural integrity of surgical knots in ventral midline celiotomy repair

Conditions Studied