A barbed suture (30, 40) for connecting human or animal tissue, said suture comprising (a) an elongated body (32, 42) formed from a suture filament and having a first end (34, 44), a second end (46) and a diameter (SD) and (b) a plurality of barbs (35, 37, 39, 47, 49, 51) projecting from the body, each barb created by a knife cut in the filament the suture to create a cutting beard having a cut length of the beard (L), so that beard is oriented in one direction and is adapted to resist movement of the suture, when in tissue, in an opposite to the direction in which the beard is oriented, in which (I) the barbs have a disposition on the body comprising a staggered arrangement, wherein the staggered disposition includes a first set (35, 47) of whiskers direction which they are radially spaced about 120 degrees from a second set (37, 49) of beard s and the second set of barbs that are radially spaced about 120 degrees from a third set (39, 51) of whiskers; and (II) the barbs have a configuration comprising (i) a depth of cut beard (D) with a ratio of cut depth whisker (D) relative to the diameter of the elongated body (SD) ranging from about 0.05 to about 0.6, (ii) the cut length of the beard (L) with a ratio of cut length beard (L) to the diameter of the elongated body (SD) ranging of about 0.2 to about 2, and (iii) a cutting distance beard (P) with a ratio of cut distance beard (P) with respect to the elongated body diameter (SD) ranging from about 0.1 to about 6.
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