Braided barbed sutures having barbed monofilament inserts with concave core profiles

A braided barbed suture includes a barbed monofilament insert including an elongated core having a thickness and a plurality of barbs projecting outwardly from opposite sides of the elongated core. The braided barbed suture includes a braided sheath surrounding the elongated core to form a composite core of the braided barbed suture. The composite core has a thickness and the elongated core is located in a center of the composite core. The elongated core thickness is about 6-8 mil and the composite core thickness is about 13-18 mil. A ratio of the elongated core thickness relative to the composite core thickness is between about 0.16 to 0.91. The elongated core has transition zones that form a concave profile. The braided barbed suture has a single breaking point for both the braided sheath and the barbed monofilament insert. The barbed monofilament insert has a PDS monofilament core, and the braided sheath is a VICRYL multifilament yarn braided sheath.