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How Long Until Plastic Surgery Stitches Dissolve?
asked 3 years ago by mnatella in boston, ma
Latest answer by Todd C. Miller, MD
Question viewed 59,043 times
Tags: stitches
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?
59 answers to How Long Until Plastic Surgery Stitches Dissolve?
+1
Sutures in eyelid surgery
If absorbable sutures are used they typically dissolve anywhere between 5 to 12 days. For the lower eyelids I usually use absorbable sutures. For the upper eyelids non absorables are used because they heal much better in this area.
+4
Dissolving sutures in blepharoplasty
Depending on the suture, dissolving sutures may take anywhere from 5 days to 14 days to dissolve. Warm soaks and topical ointments may speed this process. To achieve the best scar appearance, non dissolving sutures should be run just under the skin from one end of the incision to the other. The suture ends are taped in place and after 3-5 days the suture is easily removed by sliding it out in the office. This leaves no "track" marks on the skin which...
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+3
Disolvable suture will most likely stay for 30-60 days
Most disolvable sutures remain for 30-60 days. if they are placed externally, they can be removed one week after surgery.
S. Sean Younai, MD
Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon
Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon
+3
Dissolving Sutures And Blepharoplasty
If your surgeon used a fast absorbing gut suture, it should dissolve within 7-10 days. In many cases the body digests the suture material under the skin before the visible portion of the suture thread actually falls off. Therefore, you may still see some suture material on the skin at 10 days or so. Keeping the incisions moisturized with ointment (preferably an eye antibiotic ointment) will help speed this process up. One of the worst things you can do is to allow the incision to scab or dry...
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John M. Hilinski, MD
San Diego Facial Plastic Surgeon
San Diego Facial Plastic Surgeon
+2
Absorbable sutures for upper eyelid surgery
Absorbable sutures can sometimes take longer than expected to dissolve. 1% hydrogen peroxide will hasten this process for some types of sutures and is worth a try. Any remaining sutures should be removed by your surgeon to prevent suture marks.
Anand D. Patel, MD
Austin Facial Plastic Surgeon
Austin Facial Plastic Surgeon
+2
Dissolving Stitches for Eyelid Surgery
We have different stitches that dissolve at different times: some will dissolve in 3-5 days, others can take weeks or months!
The dissolving stitches on the surface that you can see will generally dissolve between 3-7 days.
The stitches "dissolve" as a result of your body's reaction to the stitch material. Soaking them in water, for example, won't make them "dissolve" any faster.
Because your surgeon does want them in for a particular time period,...
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+2
Soaking and pulling away can remove dissolvable blepharoplasty sutures
Mnatella,
Be sure to ask your doctor before trying this.
I use gut or chromic sutures when I want a dissolvable suture during blepharoplasty.
Gut dissolves in 4-5 days but Chromic can hang around for 10 to 14 days.
I normally remove non-absorbable sutures at 3-5 days, so you should not need eyelid sutures after 6-7 days normally.
Usually, chromic sutures and some gut sutures dry out and are not really holding the skin together at 6 days. In fact, leaving the suture in longer than 6-7 days...
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+1
How long will it take for my sutures to dissolve
I usually use a 6-0 fast absorbing gut suture and it takes about 4-6 days to dissolve. Frequently, the portion of the suture on the under surface of the incision will dissolve before the outer portion of the suture. In this instance the outer portion of the suture can simply be removed from the eyelid gently with a tweezer. I advise my patients against trying to remove their own sutures as they may undo the incision. If the sutures are taking longer than normal to dissolve I would follow up...
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+1
Dissolving stitches used in upper lid blepharoplasty
When dissolvable (aka absorbable) stitches are used in the eyelid, they usually dissolve in about a 7-10 day period if fast absorbing gut is used. Dissolve may be not be a totally accurate word as they usually break and small strands will fall out. There are other absorbable sutures in use, but other types are not typically used in the lid because they last too long. Sutures that stay in past that 1 to 1.5 week time period have a greater chance of having an unfavorable scar and formation of...
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+1
How long for stitches to dissolve
There are different types and sizes of dissolving sutures used for blepharoplasty. The ones I use (6-0 fast absorbing gut sutures) typically dissolve in 4-8 days. Check with your doctor to find out the time course based on the type of sutures used.
Although your body will dissolve the portion of the sutures beneath the skin, the part of the suture above the skin may remain for longer than the 10-day mark. I recommend keeping your skin moist and gently washing the area with a...
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+1
Time period for stitch dissolution
Each dissolving suture material has different thickness and time period for the disintegration. There is nothing you can do to make the sutures dissolve faster. They are there for a reason, to hold the wound together while your body heals. Follow your surgeon's instructions. Hope you are happy with the result!
+1
Stitch Dissolve Time?
Thank you for the question.
Depending on the type of suture used, most is old sutures in this area dissolve between 1 to 2 weeks after surgery. They may be removed sooner by your surgeon.
I hope this helps.
+1
Dissolving sutures used in eyelid surgery
Don't worry. You should be only days away from having the sutures disappear if fast dissolving chromic sutures were used by your Plastic Surgeon. There is nothing that you have to do. Verify with your doctor as to the type of sutures used for the surgery.
+1
Eyelid Surgery should be gone in 7-10 days
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?
Thank you for the question,
There are many different types of sutures. It depends on the sutures your surgeon used. Usually for eyelids 7-10 days the sutures should be gone.
see video
Sonia Badreshia-Bansal, MD
San Francisco Dermatologic Surgeon
San Francisco Dermatologic Surgeon
+1
Dissolving eyelid stitches
How long dissolvable stitches remain depends on what kind of dissolvable sutures used by the surgeon. Some dissolve within a couple of days, some dissolve over a few weeks. The rate that these stitches dissolve also depend on the individual patient. Because of the variability of dissolvable sutures, I generally never use them on eyelids. I find it more reliable to use non dissolvable sutures in the eyelids that are removed in three to five days. The healing is...
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+1
1-2 Weeks
Ideally the sutures used for the eyelid surgery will dissolve within 5-10 days; however, the knots may take longer than the rest of the suture. In this case, your doctor can remove them. Usually this is not necessary, by gently massaging the antibiotic ointment over the area, and applying warm compresses as needed, most patients do not need anything further.
Elliot M. Heller, MD
New York Facial Plastic Surgeon
New York Facial Plastic Surgeon
+1
Dissolving stitches used in eyelid surgery dissolve within 5-8 days
There are a number of different types of dissolving stitches that can be used. Those used in eyelid surgery are often the most fast absorbing type of dissolvable stitches –expected to dissolve within 5-8 days. This can be accelerated using warm compresses and the application of antibiotic ointment to the sutured areas.
However, it is difficult to predict exactly how long the stitches will take to dissolve. Because of this, I prefer to use “permanent” sutures that...
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+1
Suture material
The precise amount of time depends on the exact suture type. The type of suture I use in this area is fast absorbing plain gut which usually takes 1-2 weeks to absorb. I would ask your plastic surgeon what kind of suture material was used and then you can search this via the web or ask your plastic surgeon.
Chad Douglas Tattini, MD
Bloomington Plastic Surgeon
Bloomington Plastic Surgeon
+1
Dissolving sutures and Blepharoplasty
The time that it takes for skin sutures to dissolve depends on the type and the thickness of the suture. The most commonly used sutures can take 5 - 30 days to fully dissolve. I prefer to use non-dissolving sutures for the upper and lower eyelid skin because I feel that it gives a better cosmetic result. If I use a dissolving suture, then I will remove any remaining suture in 1 or 2 weeks.
Melanie Ho Erb, MD
Santa Monica Oculoplastic Surgeon
Santa Monica Oculoplastic Surgeon
+1
Dissolving sutures and blepharoplasty
The speed at which sutures dissolve depends on the material they are made from, and their thickness. Some sutures start to dissolve within a week, others can take weeks to months. Surgeons can choose the speed they want, depending on the needs of the particular repair.
For eyelid sutures, usually we just want a material that holds for the first week, and then goes away. Unfortunately, sometimes the sutures don't always dissolve when we want them to...so sometimes we
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+1
Dissolvable sutures after eyelid surgery
There are many different types of absorbable sutures, so their rate of absorption really varies. However, for your sutures, my guess is that they will start to dissolve within 5 days. It could still take a couple of weeks for them to fully dissolve. Other sutures that are used deep can take months to dissolve, but they are not routinely used for the skin closure.
Ryan Greene, MD, PhD
Fort Lauderdale Facial Plastic Surgeon
Fort Lauderdale Facial Plastic Surgeon
+1
Blepharoplasty and dissolvable sutures
I only use dissolvable sutures for lower eyelid blepharoplasty. they are usually gone in 1 to 2 weeks. For the upper eyelid blepharoplasty I use permanent sutures that I remove at 5 days. I would advice AGAINST trying to speed up the process. If all the sutures are not absorbed at 2 weeks have your doctor removed them him/her self to avoid any subsequent scarring.
+1
Different sutures, different dissolve rates.
There are various dissolvable stitches on the market and it depends upon what type of sutures were used. Certain dissolvable sutures (ie, fast absorbing gut) are typically used on the skin's surface and dissolve within 7-10 days while other sutures are applied beneath the surface of the skin (ie, vicryl) and can take up to 3 months to dissolve.
Peter Schmid, DO
Longmont Facial Plastic Surgeon
Longmont Facial Plastic Surgeon
+1
Dissolving sutures and when they disappear.
Dissolving or absorbable suture are made of various material which are designed to hydrolyze and breakdown over a set period of time. Some are designed to breakdown with in 3-5 days whereas other may take as long as 2 weeks. Advantages are not needing to have them removed, whereas disadvantages include variability when they dissolve (too early or too late). Warm compresses as well as keeping sutures moist with ointment often help breakdown, or if they don't breakdown they can be...
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Carlo Rob Bernardino, MD
Monterey Oculoplastic Surgeon
Monterey Oculoplastic Surgeon
+1
Stitches/Sutures rate of dissolving in Eyelid Procedures
Typically the sutures that are used in the upper eyelid are removed regardless of whether or not they are "dissolveable" The reason for this is because dissolvable sutures dont predictably dissolve at a set time. There is a range of times that sutures do dissolve, but we prefer to remove the sutures by day 6 for eyelid surgeries.
The dissolvable sutures in the lower eyelid area typically can be removed even sooner (day 4 or day 5.)
+1
Sutures take different times to dissolve
There are many different types of dissolvable sutures that are used in plastic surgery. The time that it takes for the suture to dissolve is dependent on that type of suture. Some sutures can dissolve in as quick as 3 to 5 days. These type of sutures are usually used for closing the skin. Other types of sutures can take 6 to 7 months to dissolve. An example of this type of suture is utilized to close the deep tissues on an abdominoplasty. Therefore, the answer to your question is that...
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+1
How long for stitches to dissolve?
There are many different types of materials used for stitches (sutures) for closing the skin. Some are absorbable and some are permanent and need to be removed. Typically, the type of sutures used for eyelid surgery (blepharoplasty) that are visible on top of the skin and absorbable take anywhere from 5-10 days to dissolve. Any longer, and these may leave railroad track scars along the incision. I typically remove non-absorbable stitches after blepharoplasty at 5...
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Etai Funk, MD
Houston Facial Plastic Surgeon
Houston Facial Plastic Surgeon
+1
How Long Until Plastic Surgery Stitches Dissolve?
There are different approaches to closing blepharoplasty incisions. If dissolvable sutures were used, then they usually dissolve in anywhere from 5 to 14 days, depending on the exact type of material used and the patients ability to dissolve the sutures. Often they dissolve internally but are "stuck" to the skin externally and seem intact. Using ointment on the sutures and cleaning the wound helps prevent this.
+1
Time for eyelid stitches to dissapear
Depending on what type of stitches are used they should dissolve between 7 and 10 days. Using some antibiotic ointment often helps them disappear. i prefer not to use absorbable stitches as they may create more irritation. i take out my stitches in three days and keep steri-strips on my patients eyes.
Good Luck
Carlos Wolf, MD
Miami Facial Plastic Surgeon
Miami Facial Plastic Surgeon
+1
Eyelid stitiches take time to dissolve
Dissolving sutures can take 3 days to 3 months, depending upon what type of material the sutures are made of. If they are on the outside, only the portion under the skin dissolves, so you may continue to see remnants on the surface. Your doctor can answer the question precisely. If they are not bothering you, then just enjoy your new eyelids!
Randy J. Buckspan, MD
Austin Plastic Surgeon
Austin Plastic Surgeon
+1
Stitches Dissolve Approximately 1 Week After Surgery
I'm a Cosmetic Oculofacial (Speciaizing in Eyelid and Facelift Surgery) Plastic Surgeon practicing for 15 years with offices in Manhattan's Upper Eastside. If the dissolving stitches are 6-0 fast absorbing plain gut sutures, they should be well dissolved. In my practice, I usually see my patients in 5-7 days to clear off any dissolving stitches which haven't completely dissolved.
+1
Dissolving Stitches for Upper Blepharoplasty
Every surgeon has his own preference for the TYPE of suture and the MANNER of closure. It is known that sutures left in for more than 5-7 days leave permanent dots ("Rail Road Tracking") along the incision while sutures removed in 3-5 days leave no marks whatsoever.
Personally, while not having to remove stitches is easier on the surgeon the results of monofilaments stitches (nylon, prolene etc) removed early are much better.
I would return to the surgeon and ASK that my...
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+1
No more than 10 days
The stitches usually dissolve between within 7-10 days. If they are in longer, you should ask your surgeon to remove them.
+1
Eyelid Sutures Upper Dissolvable
There are many brands of dissolvable sutures, each absorbing at a different rate. In addition, the same dissolvable eyelid sutures will be absorbed by a variable rate in each person.
A recent study examined the use of hydrogen peroxide and found that it can hasten sutures to dissolve. For this reason, we have patients "stop" the use of hydrogen peroxide three days after the procedure to prevent sutures from absorbing too soon. Any sutures...
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Anil R. Shah, MD
Chicago Facial Plastic Surgeon
Chicago Facial Plastic Surgeon
+1
Dissolving sutures
How long a suture lasts depends on what it is made of and how thick it is. In general , around the eye, I use either thin non-absorbable sutures which slip out easily after a few days or a mild biologic suture that melts away after a few days. Deeper sutures are meant to last longer depending on their purpose.
Best,
Tal Raine MD
Talmage J. Raine, MD
Chicago Plastic Surgeon
Chicago Plastic Surgeon
+1
Sutures should be dissolved in two weeks
Eyelid sutures which are dissolvable are usually gone within two weeks. Sometimes small remnant are left which have to be removed. If they are left behind they can occasionally create small cysts which have to be removed. I use nondissolvable sutures and remove them in 1 week. I feel things are a little more in control then rather than have dissolvable sutures which may be partially dissolved and have to be removed. Either way works however.
Chris Thiagarajah, MD
Washington DC Oculoplastic Surgeon
Washington DC Oculoplastic Surgeon
+1
Dissolvable sutures usually disappear within one to two weeks after surgery.
There are a variety of dissolving sutures available with varying rates of absorption. On average they will be gone within one to two weeks after surgery. I expect that yours will disappear shortly. Ideally, eyelid sutures have been removed or have dissolved within three to five days. If they remain any longer there is a risk that small cysts may form in the scar that may require surgical excision.
David A. Ross, MD
Chicago Plastic Surgeon
Chicago Plastic Surgeon
+1
When do you remove eyelid surtures
Every surgeon is different. My professors did not use sutures when I trained. They crimpted the skin together. I prefer to use one very thin suture (6-0)which runs under the skin like a basting suture and it is not reactive with tissues. I pull it out in 48 hours.
I do not using absorbable sutures since the body must dissolve then by inflamation. This leads to a red scar and hardness.
+1
Dissolvable eyelid sutures usually are gone in about a week.
I use removable sutures in the upper lids that are removed in five days. In the lower lids, I use rapidly dissolving sutures that usually are gone in about a week. Different types of sutures dissolve at different rates so it depends on the choice of the surgeon.
+1
Upper eyelid dissolvable sutures
I use a few fast dissolving sutures in upper eyelids (in addition to to tissue glue) and have done so for over 20 years !. They do take 7-8 days to dissolve, especially when they dry but can be hastened by moisturizing them (q-tip with peroxide). I have never (!) seen a cyst develop and so I feel comfortable with them. This is not to say that removable sutures aren't equally good.
+1
Dissolvable stitches in eyelid surgery
The stitches in the eyelid should be removed between 3-5 days post-op otherwise it's likely to develop cysts where the stitches were placed. Most plastic surgeons would use non-dissolvable souchers and would remove them early. I use fine non-absorbable souchers and remove them in about three days. Dissolvable stitches, when used, should be removed early as well to avoid cyst formation. I would suggest that you have your stitches removed ASAP.
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Farhad Rafizadeh, MD
Morristown Plastic Surgeon
Morristown Plastic Surgeon
+1
Dissolvable Stitches In Upper Eyelids
Ideally, they dissolve in 4 or 5 days. In practice, this almost never happens, at least not for all of them. I use dissolvable stitches on all of my upper eyelid surgeries but still take out any remaining stitches 4 or 5 days after surgery. At that time, usually half are still there. Left to their own, sometimes they take 2 or 3 weeks to all dissolve. When they last too long, marks can be left in your skin. You also of course, will have little stitches for...
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+1
Dissolving sutures and eyelid surgery
Usually when dissolvable sutures are used in eyelid surgery they dissolve within 7-10 days. If they do not dissolve you should return to your surgeon to have them removed.
David Freilich, MD
Englewood Oculoplastic Surgeon
Englewood Oculoplastic Surgeon
+1
Dissolving Sutures
My preference in upper eyelid surgery is to use a non-reactive permanent suture known as prolene. The suture is placed beneath the top skin layer and removed at 6 or 7 days. Absorbable sutures typically take 6-8 days to dissolve and fall out. The variety most commonly used is a 6-0 fast absorbing gut suture. Occasionally a suture will be less "fast absorbing" and require removal.
+1
It Depends on the Stitch
Some sutures will dissolve, some have to be removed. Dissolvable sutures will dissolve at various rates from just a few days to several months. In general, you should not try to dissolve sutures before they are ready to come out. In the upper eyelids, sutures should remain for at least 5 days to ensure proper healing.
+1
7-12 days, use some bacitracin
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...
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+1
Depends on type of suture used
Most dissolvable stitches in the eyelids are usually completely gone in the first seven to ten days after the surgery. Some other dissolvable stitches may take several months to dissolve. It really depends on the type of suture used. Typically, 6-0 fast-absorbing catgut dissipates within six to seven days after the surgery.
+1
Sutures from plastic surgery
Doctors use many different kinds of sutures. Each one has a different absorption rate. The fast absorbing sutures of the eyelids are usually fast absorbing gut sutures of 5-0 or 6-0 size. These will usually dissolve with 5-8 days. If they are still hanging around I tell patients to moisten them with bacitracin ophthalmic ointment.
+1
Fast Absorbable Plain Catgut Sutures will disolve within two weeks
If the sutures are 5-0 or 6-0 fast absorbing plain catgut sutures (which I use) They dissolve over 7-14 days. If they are anthing else
+1
Permanent sutures are better and should be removed
Most board certified plastic surgeons will use a permanent suture for the upper eye lid surgery. This suture is removed at day 5-7. The eye lid skin is very thin, and leaving an absorbable suture will create an inflammatory reaction that could make the scar look thicker. Good luck!
Hisham Seify, MD, PhD
Los Angeles Plastic Surgeon
Los Angeles Plastic Surgeon
+1
Get the stitches removed
I believe most surgeons use Prolene or Nylon for their lid sutures. Dissolvable suture is less common because they don't dissolve within the 5 days that they need to to prevent stitch marks. Have the sutures removed.
Christopher L. Hess, MD
Fairfax Plastic Surgeon
Fairfax Plastic Surgeon
+1
Plastic surgery stitches need to be removed
If your stiches are not gone after 7 days you need to ask your doctor to remove them. If stiches stay more than a week, there is a risk of track mark scars.
+1
Upper Eye Blepharoplasty
There are many different types of dissolvable sutures. I don't know which your doctor used for your eyelids, but If I were to use an absorbable suture on the upper eyelids ... Fast Absorbing has tensile strenght for 5-7 days and is completely dissolved in 2 to 4 weeks. Other absorable sutures which have more tensile strenght but last longer in the skin include Plain, Chromic, Vicryl and Monocryl .
If your doctor used Fast Absorbing Plain sutures, you should expect the sutures to start...
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Daniel Reichner, MD
Newport Beach Plastic Surgeon
Newport Beach Plastic Surgeon
+1
Dissolvable stitches in the eyes
The eye area is very sensitive to inflammation and stitches. I am not sure that using a dissolvable stitch is ideal for long term healing. Return to your doctor to check and see that everything is healing well. It does not sound like sutures in the eyelids should be around for 8 days.
Robert M. Freund, MD
New York Plastic Surgeon
New York Plastic Surgeon
+1
Leave the stitches alone
Mnatella, Talk to your doctor before doing anything different than they instructed you to do. Please be patient with your eyes - they will heal in time. Your doctor used a specific suture for a specific reason, so please don't try to hasten the recovery by doing something unplanned.
+1
Get Blepharoplasty sutures removed as soon as possible
If your surgeon used Plain gut sutures then getting them wet will usually do the trick. These sutures are quite friable. On occasion they will not come out on their own and you must have them taken out. At 8 days post-op they are ready to be removed. You do not want the sutures to stay in too long as a suture track cyst can form. My suggestion is to see your surgeon as soon as possible to have them removed.
Jeffrey Zwiren, MD
Atlanta Plastic Surgeon
Atlanta Plastic Surgeon
+1
Dissolvable stitches can be taken out
To mnatella,
Hi! They should have dissolved by now. Go back to your surgeon and he or she can take out the remaining sutures. You'll be fine.
+1
Not at this point
At this point, in my opinion, you are not far enough out from the surgery.
After 2 weeks, I have my patients massage the incisions to help soften the firmness associated with the scar and sutures.
It would also depend on the type of suture.
+1
Ask your doctor to remove stitches instead
On your next visit, why don't you just ask him to remove them? Don't do anything to the surgical site without first consulting your surgeon.
Scott E. Kasden, MD
Dallas Plastic Surgeon
Dallas Plastic Surgeon
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