A barbed suture is a type of knotless surgical suture that has barbs on its surface. While suturing tissue

Tissue (biology)

Tissue is a cellular organizational level intermediate between cells and a complete organism. A tissue is an ensemble of cells, not necessarily identical, but from the same origin, that together carry out a specific function. These are called tissues because of their identical functioning...

, these barbs penetrate inside the tissue and lock them in place, eliminating the need for knots to tie the suture. Conventional sutures rely on a surgeon's ability to to tie secure knots, whilst barbed sutures provide a knotless alternative in some surgical situations. Barbed sutures are primarily used in cosmetic surgery .