Austria bans bovine catgut in surgical suturing:
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
The Austrian government has moved to ban the use of catgut, made from bovine intestines, in surgical suturing, following a warning by the European Commission. Catgut can be "almost completely" replaced by synthetic suturing, the government believes. In cases where a replacement is not available, it advises doctors to use CE-marked catgut that originates from a country where the risk of BSE is relatively low (for example Argentina, Paraguay, Norway and New Zealand). The ban coincides with similar moves by the German government (see Clinica No 944, p 4).