Surgical stitches (7)
I believe the answer is:
sutures
<span class="explanation-format__ClueExplanation">'<span class="explanation-format__original">surgical stitches</span>' is the definition.<br/ ><span class="explanation-format__explanation">(I've seen this before)</span><br/ ><br/ >This is all the clue.<br/ ></span>
(Other definitions for sutures that I've seen before include "Surgeons' stitching" , "Stitches for wounds" , "Surgical stitches" .)