Today's medical textile market is producing state of the art polymeric textile implantable devices that are redefining traditional materials and methods of surgery. These sophisticated high-tech polymer materials are engineered for specific uses in surgical and interventional procedures. One of the new biotextile products is an absorbable bi-directional barbed surgical suture that does not require surgical knots for wound closure. This novel idea has the attention of many physicians and surgeons where wound closure or tissue approximation is needed. The barbed suture has the potential to change the way wound closure is perceived in various clinical fields of surgery and veterinary medicine.