Suture

A suture was an ancient medical technique on Earth. According to The Doctor, "before the advent of laser technology, surgical fiber was used to stitch together a wound to allow it to heal naturally."

While in the year 1930, the delusional Doctor Leonard McCoy rambled on about the inadequacies of 20th century medicine, stating, "they used to hand-cut and sew people like garments. Needles and sutures, all the terrible pain!"

In 2370, The Doctor suggested that to repair the damage done to a nucleogenic cloud being, USS Voyager, whose energy systems were compatible with the lifeform's omicron particles, could serve the needs to repair the lifeform in much the same way as a suture. The Doctor suggested that if allowed the ship to serve as an energy conduit across the wound, the lifeform would be able to regenerate itself more rapidly. 

By the 22nd century, sutures were advanced to the level of the autosuture, which continued to be used well into the 24th century. 

Other types of sutures used during the 24th century include micro-sutures and submicron sutures.