Suture, nonabsorbable: medical device reports filed with FDA

601 reports carry this product code, 1992–2026; 12 brands with a page.

Read first · FDA's statement on these data

Adverse event reports submitted to FDA do not undergo extensive validation or verification. Therefore, a causal relationship cannot be established between product and reactions listed in a report. While a suspected relationship may exist, it is not medically validated and should not be the sole source of information for clinical decision making or other assumptions about the safety or efficacy of a product. Additionally, it is important to remember that adverse event reports represent a small percentage of total usage numbers of a product. Common products may have a higher number of adverse events due to the higher total number of people using the product. openFDA, FDA

FDA adds: "Although MDRs are a valuable source of information, this passive surveillance system has limitations, including the potential submission of incomplete, inaccurate, untimely, unverified, or biased data. In addition, the incidence or prevalence of an event cannot be determined from this reporting system alone due to potential under-reporting of events and lack of information about frequency of device use." And: "MDR data alone cannot be used to establish rates of events, evaluate a change in event rates over time or compare event rates between devices. The number of reports cannot be interpreted or used in isolation to reach conclusions about the existence, severity, or frequency of problems associated with devices."

Do not rely on openFDA to make decisions regarding medical care. While we make every effort to ensure that data is accurate, you should assume all results are unvalidated.

Not medical advice. This site counts what was reported to FDA. Questions about a medicine or device belong with a pharmacist or clinician.

601
reports with this product code: 0% of all MAUDE reports; 30
reports, 12 months to August 2026: 9 in the 12 months before; 38.1%
classified as malfunction: 62.3% across all reports; 1.7%
classified as death, as reported: 0.9% across all reports

Product code GAO is FDA's classification for "Suture, nonabsorbable" (general, Plastic Surgery panel), a class 2 device. 601 medical device reports carry this product code, 0% of the MAUDE database, from June 1992 to July 2026.

30 reports arrived in the 12 months to August 2026, up 233% from 9 in the 12 months before. FDA releases MAUDE data monthly; reports can arrive months after an event, so the newest months grow in later releases. The event types recorded are injury (56.7%), malfunction (38.1%) and death (1.7%). 12 brand names with a page on this site carry this code; the brands table is ordered by report count for navigation only. FDA states that "MDR data alone cannot be used to establish rates of events, evaluate a change in event rates over time or compare event rates between devices. The number of reports cannot be interpreted or used in isolation to reach conclusions about the existence, severity, or frequency of problems associated with devices." It adds that the reporting system "has limitations, including the potential submission of incomplete, inaccurate, untimely, unverified, or biased data."

Brands with this product code

Brand	Reports	Latest 12 months	Classified as death	Classified as malfunction
Suture Unknown	67	39	0.6%	50.1%
ETHILON Nylon Suture	65	9	0.2%	47.6%
Unknown Suture Product	62	28	0.9%	45.3%
Gore-Tex Suture	4	16	1.2%	53.5%
Surgipro	4	89	0.9%	23.5%
Capio	2	13	0%	68.5%
Coated VICRYL (polyglactin 910) Suture	2	20	0.5%	19.4%
Silk Suture	2	35	0%	69.8%
Alcon	1	2	0%	36.7%
Auto Suture	1	234	0.1%	94.6%
ETHIBOND Extra & Excel Polyester Suture	1	34	0%	24.9%
Ethicon	1	164	2.3%	54.2%

Ordered by report count for navigation only. FDA states that "MDR data alone cannot be used to establish rates of events, evaluate a change in event rates over time or compare event rates between devices. The number of reports cannot be interpreted or used in isolation to reach conclusions about the existence, severity, or frequency of problems associated with devices." It adds that the reporting system "has limitations, including the potential submission of incomplete, inaccurate, untimely, unverified, or biased data."

Manufacturers named

Manufacturer (as written on reports)	Reports	Share
Ethicon	65	10.8%
United States Surgical	19	3.2%
Ethicon San Angelo	11	1.8%
W L Gore & Associates	5	0.8%
Ethicon Endo-Surgery	4	0.7%
Ponce - Uss	2	0.3%
Teleflex	2	0.3%
American Medical Systems	1	0.2%
Cordis	1	0.2%

Reports by month, five years

FDA releases MAUDE data monthly; reports can arrive months after an event, so the newest months grow in later releases.

Event type and report source

Event type

Death1.7%10

Injury56.7%341

Malfunction38.1%229

Other1.7%10

Not given1.8%11

Who filed

Manufacturer report76.4%459

Voluntary report11.1%67

User facility report0%0

Distributor report0%0

Not given12.5%75

Grey bar: all 26,136,888 MAUDE reports.

Device problems coded

Device problem (FDA code)	Reports	Share
Breakthe device broke	172	28.6%
Other (for use when an appropriate device code cannot be identified)	89	14.8%
Replace	36	6%
Suture line separation	30	5%
Explanted	27	4.5%
Needle, separation	25	4.2%
Suture line disruption	24	4%
Detachment of device component	20	3.3%
Device issuea problem with the device	19	3.2%
Material erosion	19	3.2%
Reactiona reaction, type not specified	17	2.8%
Tip breakage	16	2.7%
Component(s), broken	15	2.5%
Device, or device fragments remain in patient	15	2.5%
Material separation	12	2%
Fracturea broken bone	10	1.7%
Material frayed	9	1.5%
Device or device fragments location unknown	6	1%
Absorption	5	0.8%
Contamination	5	0.8%

Questions about suture, nonabsorbable reports

What is product code GAO?

FDA's classification code for "Suture, nonabsorbable", class 2, reviewed by the general, Plastic Surgery panel. Every device report carries the product code of the device involved.

How many reports carry this code?

601 reports through August 2026, 30 of them in the latest 12 months.

Which brands appear most often?

Suture Unknown (67), ETHILON Nylon Suture (65), Unknown Suture Product (62), Gore-Tex Suture (4) and Surgipro (4). Widely used products collect more reports because more people use them.

Can the brands table be used to rank the devices?

No. FDA states that "MDR data alone cannot be used to establish rates of events, evaluate a change in event rates over time or compare event rates between devices. The number of reports cannot be interpreted or used in isolation to reach conclusions about the existence, severity, or frequency of problems associated with devices." It adds that the reporting system "has limitations, including the potential submission of incomplete, inaccurate, untimely, unverified, or biased data." Brands differ in how many are in use, how long they have been sold and how reports are collected.

Where this comes from. Counts are built from the openFDA Device Adverse Event (MAUDE) bulk export released 28 Sep 2026, which holds reports FDA received through 31 Aug 2026. Brand, generic and manufacturer names are as written on the reports; product code names come from FDA's device classification. No report narrative, lot number, patient detail or reporter identity is published. See the methodology and sources; FDA's record is authoritative, and corrections are handled within five working days.

Drug data (FAERS) through 30 Jun 2026; device data (MAUDE) through 31 Aug 2026. Not medical advice.