Surgical suture caused sharp pain in the abdomen (6)
I believe the answer is:
stitch
'surgical suture' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'caused sharp pain in the abdomen' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'pain' could be 'itch' (I have seen 'Irritating pain ' mean 'itch' so perhaps 'pain' could also mean 'itch') and 'itch' is present in the answer.
'the' could be 't' (the is pronounced as a 't' sound in some dialects) and 't' is found in the answer.
A single letter 's' remains which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for stitch that I've seen before include "Single loop of needlework" , "Sharp spasm of pain in the side" , "Mend with needle and thread" , "Loop of thread" , "Piece of needlework" .)