Purpose: To evaluate and present alternative knots for securing expanded polytetrafluorethylene (ePTFE) or "Gore-tex" suture.

Description: The W.L. Gore Company recommends seven square knots to secure their ePTFE suture and some authors recommend up to ten. A considerable amount of foreign material and "tail" results from this knot. My project was to see if the bulk of this knot can be reduced without sacrificing security. I present an experiment subjecting alternative "Gore-tex" suture knots to gradual tension and testing each knot's breaking or slipping strength. The experiment and data is presented in Poster form and and a new modification of a knot that allows rapid application using instruments and decreased bulk is illustrated.
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