referring now to fig1 there is shown a plan view of a molded suture retainer 20 in accordance with the invention . the molded suture retainer illustrated in fig1 finds particular application for holding double or triple folded sutures of up to or more than 36 inches in length . preferably , the molded suture retainer is made from a moldable transparent plastic material such as , for example , polyethylene terapthalate ( petg ), eastman kodak 6763 . as shown , retainer 20 has a base 22 and an enlarged suture receiving section 24 leading to a relatively wide passageway 26 having minimal convolutions . the passageway 26 follows an oval pattern spiraling toward the proximate center through four turns and terminates at a central vacuum receiving section 28 . fig2 is a cross - sectional view of the retainer shown in fig1 taken along line 2 -- 2 of fig1 illustrating base 22 with molded passageway 26 extending from the base 22 . preferably , base 22 is approximately 3 . 350 inches ( 85 . 09 millimeters ) by 1 . 375 inches ( 34 . 925 millimeters ) in order to conform to commonly accepted overall dimensions of conventional suture packages and display boxes . the retainers are preferably about 0 . 010 inches ( 0 . 254 millimeters ) thick . typical sizes and diameters of sutures from the standard united states pharmacopeia ( united states pharmacopeia convention , inc ., elsewhere abbreviated u . s . p .) are listed below . ______________________________________u . s . p . size u . s . p . diameter , inches , max . ______________________________________7 - 0 0 . 0026 - 0 0 . 0045 - 0 0 0064 - 0 0 0083 - 0 0 0102 - 0 0 . 0131 - 0 0 . 0161 0 . 0192 0 . 0223 0 . 025______________________________________ while these sizes are most common , one skilled in the art would realize that other sizes can be used with the retainer of the present invention . passageway 26 is substantially wider than conventional molded suture retainer passageways and should be at least several times the diameter of the largest suture to be disposed therein . preferably the passageway is at least about twice the diameter of the largest suture to be placed therein in depth and at least about four times the diameter in width . this relatively wide passageway 26 permits the easy insertion , storage and removal of folded sutures without the creation of undesirable kinks and bends in the suture . depending on the size of the base and the number of sutures to be retained , the passageway may be made wider and , if necessary , deeper . for example , width ranges of between about 0 . 10 and 0 . 30 inches and depth ranges of between about 0 . 05 and 0 . 07 are contemplated . for most common suture sizes a passageway of about 0 . 060 inches ( 1 . 524 millimeters ) deep and 0 . 200 inches ( 5 . 080 millimeters ) wide is preferred ( see fig2 ). referring now to fig3 there is shown an appropriate cover sheet 30 for the retainer shown in fig1 and 2 . cover sheet 30 is configured and dimensioned to overlie the open top of the retainer 20 . the cover sheet is provided with a vacuum aperture 32 and a suture entrance aperture 34 . cover sheet 30 is adhesively attached to the molded retainer 20 and covers the passageway 26 . in a preferred embodiment the cover sheet is adhered to the retainer with a hot melt adhesive , such as oliver 18b adhesive coating available from oliver products of minneapolis , minn . vacuum aperture 32 aligns and communicates with the central vacuum receiving section 28 of the molded retainer 20 . similarly , suture entrance aperture 34 aligns and communicates with the suture receiving section 24 . preferably , cover sheet 20 is constructed of a material which is pervious to ethylene oxide sterilizing gas . the preferred material is a spun bonded polyolefin , such as tyvek 1073b available from e . i . dupont de nemours & amp ; co . as shown in fig3 the preferred cover sheet 30 includes a fold - over panel 36 joined to the main section of the cover sheet at a perforated score line 38 with openings 40 . where armed sutures are to be loaded , a foam needle park 42 can be provided for holding a needle 43 in place during storage . in fig3 passageway 26 is shown in phantom to illustrate the relationship of the cover sheet to the molded retainer . retainer 20 is well suited for doubled over or doubled armed sutures and is preferred for tripled over sutures . referring to fig4 in order to load a tripled over suture into the retainer 20 of fig1 and 2 , a suture 44 , such as a suture which is thirty six or more inches in length , is looped to form a first curved or half loop section 46 distal to the needle 48 and a second curved or half loop section 50 adjacent the needle . a suture tail end 52 extends beyond the first curved section 46 . preferably , tail end 52 extends beyond first curved loop section by a distance of at least about one inch . with vacuum applied to the retainer , such as by placing a vacuum block ( not shown ) over vacuum aperture 32 ( see fig3 ), suture tail end 52 and then first curved section 46 are sequentially inserted through suture entrance aperture 34 into passageway 26 while holding the suture adjacent the needle 48 and the second curved section 50 . the suture is drawn into the retainer 20 by vacuum until the needle 48 is disposed adjacent suture aperture 34 . in this embodiment , it is important that suture tail end 52 extend beyond the first curved section 46 at all times so that a knot is not inadvertently formed in the suture during insertion or removal from the retainer . fig5 shows a bottom view of an unarmed tripled over suture 44 loaded within the wide passageway 26 of the molded suture retainer 20 . for halved or doubled over sutures as shown in fig6 the suture 54 is looped proximate its midpoint 56 to form two approximately equal lengths . loading is accomplished in a manner similar to that described above with respect to the tripled over suture with the exception that no extended suture tail end need be formed . with vacuum applied , needle 58 and suture end 60 are grasped while inserting midpoint suture loop 56 through suture entrance aperture 34 into passageway 26 . the suture 54 is drawn into the retainer 20 by vacuum until the needle is disposed adjacent the suture aperture 34 . where sutures without needles are to be loaded into retainers , the above described loading procedures are equally applicable . instead of inserting the suture until the needle is disposed adjacent the suture aperture , however , a short length of suture is maintained outside the suture aperture to facilitate easy removal . similarly , for double armed sutures , i . e . sutures having needles on either end of the suture , the folding and loading procedure is the same as that described above for the halved suture 54 of fig6 the only difference being the inclusion of a second needle at the suture end 60 . as an alternate insertion technique for double armed needles , it is contemplated that one needle could be disposed in the needle park prior to drawing the suture into the retainer under vacuum . that is , one needle would be placed in the needle park with the blunt end of the needle adjacent suture entrance aperture 34 , then the suture would be drawn into the retainer under vacuum until the second needle is also adjacent the suture entrance aperture and can similarly be placed in the needle park . heretofore , embodiments of folded sutures have been described as being loaded singly with one suture per retainer . it is also envisaged that a plurality of these folded sutures can be loaded into and retained by a single molded suture retainer . in those cases , each of the sutures will be fed simultaneously through the suture entrance aperture 34 while a vacuum is applied to passageway 26 through vacuum aperture 32 . as stated , cover sheet 30 preferably includes a fold over panel 36 . fold over panel 36 covers the needle and suture during storage and is moved to an open position upon opening the outer package containing the suture and retainer . in the case of nonabsorbable sutures , the suture and retainer may simply be enclosed in a so - called breather pouch suitable for gas sterilization , such as a pouch consisting on one side of polyolefin ( tyvek ) and a clear plastic on the other , such as polyethylene . the breather pouch is opened by peeling the two sides of the breather pouch apart and opening the fold over panel to reveal the needle or suture end , which may be grasped to remove the suture from the retainer by pulling . in the case of synthetic absorbable sutures , the retainer would be packaged in a foil laminate envelope which would be further packaged within an outer breather pouch . the preferred inner pouch is the peelable pouch as shown in fig7 and 8 . fig7 is a top plan view of the preferred peelable pouch in the closed position , and fig8 illustrates the pouch partially peeled open . the peelable inner pouch 45 has a top layer comprised of first and second top panels 47 , 49 , respectively . the first and second top panels are adhered to each other transversely , leaving a gripping tab 51 . the top panels are adhered to a bottom panel 55 at a peripheral seal 53 , i . e . at the transverse and longitudinal edges of the inner pouch or envelope , so as to define a pocket for receiving a suture retainer . as shown in fig8 first top panel 47 does not extend the full length of bottom panel 55 , but terminates at a first top panel transverse edge 57 . upon peeling the inner pouch open , needle 43 is seen protruding from suture aperture 34 in the cover sheet and is held in position by needle park 42 . the needle is plainly visible and accessible for removal of the suture from the passageway ( shown in phantom ) in the retainer . preferably , fold over panel 36 is adhered to second top panel 49 , so that upon opening the peelable inner pouch the needle is fully revealed and accessible . top panels 47 , 49 and bottom panel 55 may be constructed of a foil laminate material with a hot melt adhesive on the inner surface of each panel for forming peripheral seal 53 and the seal between the overlapping first and second top layer panels . the foregoing peelable pouch is preferred , but it will be understood that other types of envelopes , such as conventional tearable foil laminate envelopes , can be used . see , for example , u . s . pat . nos . 3 , 939 , 969 and 4 , 014 , 433 . it is contemplated that the suture could be sterilized by ethylene oxide permeating through an opening in the peelable pouch which is subsequently sealed , and that the peelable pouch itself should be sterilized and maintained sterile in an outer breather pouch in a known manner . see , for example , u . s . pat . nos . 3 , 815 , 315 and 4 , 603 , 538 . to the extent not already indicated , it also will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that any one of the various specific embodiments herein described and illustrated may be further modified to incorporate features shown in other of the specific embodiments . the invention in its broader aspects therefore is not limited to the specific embodiments herein shown and described but departures may be made therefrom within the scope of the accompanying claims without departing from the principles of the invention and without sacrificing its chief advantages .
a molded suture retainer is provided for retaining and storing long suture lengths . both absorbable and nonabsorbable sutures fabricated from natural or synthetic materials can be advantageously retained and stored therein . the retainer is characterized by a wide spiraling oval passageway with minimal convolutions covered by a cover sheet . the length of the passageway is preferably proportional to 1 / 3 to 1 / 2 the overall length of the suture to be retained therein . in accordance with the method of the invention , sutures are doubled or tripled over and inserted into the retainer under vacuum . sutures packaged in accordance with the invention exhibit fewer kinks and bends than prior packaged sutures .