a) 6-0 Vicryl

b) 6-0 Dexon

c) 6-0 silk

d) 6-0 chromic gut

e) 6-0 Prolene

14. According to the USP standards, the diameter of a 6-0 suture (EP 0.7) is

a) 1-1.25mm

b) 0.001-0.002mm

c) 0.07-0.099mm

d) 0.7-0.8mm

15. An appropriate suture for securing a scleral buckle is

a) 4-0 chromic

b) 5-0 Mersilene

c) 5-0 Prolene

d) 6-0 silk

16. An appropriate suture for closing a scleral laceration is

a) 8-0 chromic

b) 6-0 silk

c) 8-0 nylon

d) 5-0 Mersilene

17. An appropriate suture for closing eyelid skin in a child is

a) 6-0 Prolene

b) 6-0 silk

c) 6-0 plain gut

d) 7-0 chromic gut

18. An appropriate suture for closing a corneal incision is

a) 6-0 nylon

b) 8-0 nylon

c) 10-0 nylon

d) 8-0 Vicryl

19. Which characteristic of braided suture is generally superior to monofilament?

a) Pliability

b) Capillarity

c) Tissue drag

d) Reactivity

20. Which needle tip causes the least tissue trauma?

a) Reverse cutting

b) Spatula

c) Cutting

d) Taper point

21. Which needle design is best suited to maintain constant tissue depth?

a) Taper point

b) Spatula

c) Reverse cutting

d) Trochar

22. Which needle point is best suited to penetrate dense connective tissue in the skin?

a) Taper point

b) Spatula

c) Reverse cutting

d) Trochar

23. Which needle point is designed specifically for corneal and scleral suturing?

a) Taper point

b) Spatula

c) Reverse cutting

24. The needle design that has the greatest strength to resist bending is

a) Taper point

b) Spatula

c) Reverse cutting

d) Cutting

25. The goal of needle selection is to choose the needle that will

a) Achieve the desired tissue penetration as easily as possible, while causing as little damage or alteration to the tissue as possible

b) Pierce the tissue as easily as possible

c) Only cut on two sides

d) Have the necessary tensile strength

26. Using a needle holder with jaws that are too small for the needle

a) Can help with control of the needle tip

b) Leads to unstable control of the needle tip

c) Increases the chances for bending the needle

d) Is ideal for placing sutures in the cornea

27. Knotting a suture

a) Increases its tensile strength

b) Decreases its tensile strength

c) Leaves tensile strength unchanged

d) Has an unpredictable effect on tensile strength

a) Performing strabismus surgery

b) Placing sutures in the cornea

c) Closing the conjunctiva in a trabeculectomy

d) Closing a laceration of the eyelid margin

29. When loading a needle into a needle holder with curved jaws

a) The needle should be positioned toward the back of the jaws

b) The point of the needle should be directed toward the concave side of the jaws

c) The point of the needle should be directed toward the convex side of the jaws

d) The needle holder should not be locked

30. Reaching directly for a needle with your hand

a) Is the most efficient way to grasp it

b) Is best done with the nondominant hand

c) Is only done with larger sized needles

d) Promotes needle stick injuries and should be avoided

31. When suturing, it is helpful to hold the tissue

a) Close to the intended spot where the suture will be placed

b) At some distance from the spot to be sutured

c) With nontoothed forceps

d) On the opposite wound edge

32. Each of the following is correct, except

a) A locking needle holder should be unlocked prior to passing the needle into the tissue

b) It is best to leave the needle holder locked throughout the suture pass

c) Grasping the tip of the needle to complete the pass can damage the tip, making subsequent passes more difficult

d) The orientation of the needle in the needle holder depends on whether the surgeon intends to use his/her right or left hand for the pass

33. Adding more loops to the first throw of a knot

a) Helps to make the knot tighter

b) Helps hold the wound edges together by not slipping

c) Increases the rate of suture absorption

d) Decreases the rate of suture absorption

34. Longer bites of tissue are required in all the following situations, except

a) Closing a scleral incision

b) When there is traction on the wound

c) When the tissue has reduced tensile strength

d) Blood supply to the tissue is poor

35. Corneal sutures should extend to

a) 10% depth

b) 50% depth

c) 90% depth

d) 100% depth

36. Monofilament suture is superior to multifilament suture in

a) Pliability

b) Tensile strength

c) Absorbability

d) Tissue drag

37. An advantage of a running suture over interrupted sutures is

a) Improved tensile strength

b) Improved distribution of wound tension

c) Less tendency to create scars in the skin

d) Reduced time to close a wound

38. The stitch providing the greatest tensile strength for a soft-tissue closure is

a) Horizontal mattress

b) Simple interrupted

c) Vertical mattress

d) Figure eight

39. Closure of a circular opening in loose fascia can be efficiently done using

a) A series of simple interrupted sutures

b) A locking running suture

c) A purse string

d) A series of vertical mattress sutures

40. The surgical knot in ophthalmic suturing

a) Should be tied as tightly as possible

b) Should have minimum of four throws

c) Should be as small as possible without jeopardizing strength

d) Should always start with two loops

41. Multifilament sutures are generally easier to knot than monofilament because

a) They have increased memory

b) They have increased stiffness

c) There is no coating

d) They have higher pliability

a) To improve knot strength

b) Primarily when low tension is required

c) To help hold the first throw down

d) To reduce knot bulk

43. Tying sutures too tightly can result in

a) Increased likelihood of entry and exit marks (railroad tracks)

b) Necrosis of wound edges

c) Both a and b

d) Neither a nor b

44. Eversion of wound edges is most likely to occur with which type of stitch?

a) Horizontal mattress

b) Vertical mattress

c) Simple interrupted

d) Running subcuticular

45. In suturing a corneoscleral laceration, the first step should be

a) Closing the portion of the wound closest to the visual axis

b) Closing the most posterior aspect of the wound

c) Approximation of the limbus

d) A figure 8 stitch extending from cornea to sclera

46. To achieve a watertight closure of the conjunctiva in trabeculectomy, the best type of needle to use is

a) Spatula

b) Micropoint spatula

c) Taper point

d) Reverse cutting