Dissolveable Stitches Causing Abscess 5 Yrs Post-op?

Question

I had a tummy tuck & breast lift/augmentation after losing a large amount of weight. My tummy tuck line never smoothed and was filled with bumps (suture knots). I've had a few surface, but easily. Recently one got very red & hot & sore so I went to my surgeon. I had an abscess where a stitch was coming out. Five years later. Is that common? What factors contribute to skin/body properly dissolving sutures? Thx

Antoine A. Hallak, MD, FACS · Answer

Hi, it is very unlikely that you still have remnants of dissolving sutures causing these problems. most dissolving sutures are completely gone after a few months. please follow the advise of your surgeon who knows best what sutures he used and how to treat this problem.

Ronald Schuster, MD · Answer

I am sorry to hear that you have had trouble with your sutures. The sutures however are not dissolvable but rather "permanent" or "non-dissolvable". There are a variety of dissolvable sutures and will dissolve completely depending on what they are made of. In general the longer lasting sutures are gone by 3 months after surgery. Non-dissolable sutures never go away.

Adam Bryce Weinfeld, MD · Answer

A dissolving stitch abscess at 5 yrs seems unlikely given that it should be Heineken in that time frame (unless it was totally burried in cartilage).  More likely to be a non absorbable suture.

Steven Wallach, MD · Answer

It is quite possible that permanent sutures were placed deeply and now they are "spitting".  Usually just removing the ones that extrude solve the problem.

Robert L. Kraft, MD, FACS · Answer

Five years postop, a dissolvable suture would not remain.  You may have had a problem with a non-dissolving suture material.  Your post addresses two different problems: the incision itself and a buried, non-dissolving suture.  Each has its own etiology.

Daniel Greenwald, MD (in memoriam) · Answer

By 5 years most dissolving stitches should be gone.  Deep stitches that do not dissolve can cause problems forever, but these are usually easily fixed by removing the stitch.

Ashok Govila, FRCS, MCh, MS - Account Suspended · Answer

I think these can be non dissolving stitch which some time can get infected if they come close to skin and skin breaks down because of pressure from garments then infection can set in IMHO and an abscess can form.

Dissolveable Stitches Causing Abscess 5 Yrs Post-op?

Answers (7)