7-12 days, use some bacitracin

Paul L. Leong, MD answers: How long until plastic surgery stitches dissolve?

I had upper eyelid surgery 8 days ago, and the doctor used dissolvable stitches. How long does it normally take for stitches to dissolve?  Is there anything I can do to make them dissolve faster?


Paul L. Leong, MD
6 months ago
By Paul L. Leong, MD - Pittsburgh Facial Plastic Surgeon

The most common dissolvable suture used in an upper blepharoplasty surgery is 6-0 fast absorb gut suture. This will generally absorb between 7-12 days. By using bacitracin ointment several times a day, the sutures will absorb slightly faster. Good result can be obtained with either absorbable or permanent sutures. Some surgeons claim that permanent sutures have a reduced chance of leaving marks or thickening the scar. This may be true, but there are no conclusive studies to support this assertion.

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