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Surgical Catgut: The Myth of Allergy

From the Hand Service, Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, New York City, U.S.A

Correspondence: Robert E. Carroll, M.D., Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, 161 Fort Washington Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10032 U.S.A.

During the period 1950 to 1985, 137 patients stated to the author that they were allergic to catgut sutures. The allegations were based on a previous episode at various sites on the body where wound healing had been complicated. A review of the problem did not indicate any history of symptoms of allergy. The author used catgut in the completion of his surgery on each of these patients. None of them showed any allergic manifestation and all healed perfectly per primum. Recent molecular studies of the collagen proteins demonstrate that it is highly improbable for the material to cause antigenicity.

Journal of Hand Surgery (British and European Volume), Vol. 14, No. 2, 218-220 (1989)
DOI: 10.1016/0266-7681(89)90131-9


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