For example, a suture made of a lactide-glycolide copolymer containing about 10 percent of dilactyl moieties may be coated with a composition containing, as a film former, a lactide-gylcolide copolymer containing about 65 percent of dilactyl moieties, which copolymer is more readily soluble than the suture material in such solvents as benzene, dioxane, or 1,1,2 -trichloroethane.