My surgeon is going to remove my upper eyelid sutures 9 days after blepharoplasty. Is this too long to wait?

If you saw the surgeon 2 days postop and they want to wait another week before removing sutures, you should be fine. Aside from schedule, their decision is likely based on how our incisions were made, eyelids treated, type of sutures used, etc.

Removing the sutures of the upper eyelids can be done anywhere up to 10 days depending upon the type of suture that was used.  If it is a monofilament suture like Prolene (blue or clear), then it should not leave any issues with scarring.

 Thank you for sharing your question. It should be fine to remove the sutures nine days after you had blepharoplasty (for most types of sutures). The scars should still heal well (and maybe even better depending if a laser was used for the incision). I hope this is helpful.Good luck,

Typically no.Based on the size of the suture, thickness of the skin, amount of skin removed, etc.,  this may be fine.   Some surgeons will have shorter times, fewer longer, but this timeline is well within normal limits.I hope this helps.

You should be fine with sutures removed at 9 days.  When they are removed at 3-5 days, much greater chance of the wound opening.  usually at about 7 days you should do well.  So waiting 2 more days should not create any issue.  If they used a C02 laser, the skin takes longer to heal and it is best to wait a few extra days.  

Thank you for your question.  Depending on the technique of suturing used, it is unlikely to have a significant effect on your results, but I tend to remove sutures at 5 days after surgery to prevent any additional scarring. Hope this helps.

However, if your surgeon used a laser to make your incisions, extra time is needed because the laser devitalizes the skin edge.  For that reason, removing sutures in this circumstance too early (before about day 9 or 10) the edges of the wound can separate.  If your surgeon did not use a laser, then they developed a bad habit of leaving stitiches in too long.  This can cause an angry blepharoplasty incision line or even cysts.  So would you be better off having the stitches removed at day 6 or day 9?  In the long run, this is a minor time difference and it is likely you will be fine or have only minor issues with this small difference in time.

In general, most surgeons remove upper eyelid sutures after 5-7 days. Leaving them in an extra 2 days (9 days total) should not make a difference in outcome. I don't think suture tracks are more noticeable because of that. Plus it depends on what suture material was used and how it was placed. If it is a subcuticular (below the skin) running suture, it won't matter at all how long it was left in as the skin itself isn't punctured by the needle and suture tracks do not occur. Best wishes!

Every Surgeon will have a slightly different rational and plan for suture removal based on the type of suture used and the procedure performed.  I use prolene for upper eyelid surgery, which is a very nonreactive monofilament suture, and the sutures are removed at 7 days.  Nine days is longer than usual, but this should not significantly affect the outcome.  Upper eyelid incisions almost uniformly heal beautifully.

Generally, removing the sutures after 9 days should be fine.  The timing of suture removal is slightly different depending on type of suture used, amount of skin removed, thickness of skin and surgeon preference. I recommend that you continue to follow up with your surgeon.