A surgical cord (100 and 200,101) comprising a tubular section along its main length and comprising regions (600, 608 and 601) exhibiting different mechanical and/or physical properties resultant from a change in material, pattern type, pattern density and yarn thickness and/or shape. Different regions along the length of the cord are optimised to provide the required extensibility and abrasion resistance and/or stiffness. A tissue core (904) may be incorporated within the tubular cord structure and a means of indicating the tensile loading force applied to the cord may be provided.
