I just an eyebrow lift, mini facelift, and neck liposuction on 6/13/17. My doctor has left for vacation and isn't removing my stitches until he returns on 7/5/17. Should the stitches be removed sooner?
June 18, 2017
Answer: Is 22 days too long to leave my stitches in after brow and mini facelift and should I request another doctor to remove them? Every surgeon takes time off for vacation, meetings, his or her own medical care, etc., but I'm sure the office remains open, and staff is present to continue functions of the practice. One or more staffers should be capable of removing sutures.To leave them in for over 3 weeks so he can remove them on his return is, frankly, inappropriate. As others have stated, suture track marks are due to two things--tying sutures too tightly, and/or leaving them in too long. More than a week or so leaves marks (depending on how tightly the surgeon ties them, as too tight can leave marks at even a week if the stitches "cut through" the skin like a cheesewire).Call the office and get these sutures out now, or ask who is covering for the surgeon and have him or her remove the sutures. Best wishes! Dr. Tholen
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June 18, 2017
Answer: Is 22 days too long to leave my stitches in after brow and mini facelift and should I request another doctor to remove them? Every surgeon takes time off for vacation, meetings, his or her own medical care, etc., but I'm sure the office remains open, and staff is present to continue functions of the practice. One or more staffers should be capable of removing sutures.To leave them in for over 3 weeks so he can remove them on his return is, frankly, inappropriate. As others have stated, suture track marks are due to two things--tying sutures too tightly, and/or leaving them in too long. More than a week or so leaves marks (depending on how tightly the surgeon ties them, as too tight can leave marks at even a week if the stitches "cut through" the skin like a cheesewire).Call the office and get these sutures out now, or ask who is covering for the surgeon and have him or her remove the sutures. Best wishes! Dr. Tholen
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June 18, 2017
Answer: Too long. Have these removed immediately. Many surgeons use absorbable sutures and magically think they thereby don't need to remove the sutures. To avoid causing scars and suture tracks, the sutures need to be removed 5-7 days after surgery. For a variety of reasons, a few supporting sutures might need to be left for 10 days. Sutures need to be left in longer when a laser is used to make the incision (A great reason not to use a laser). Staples also need to be removed in the same time frame. Absorbable sutures almost never disappear this fast. Common absorbable sutures take much longer to break down. Chromic sutures take 90 days and Vicryl sutures 75 days to fully break down and disappear. I use absorbable sutures and frequently use so-called fast absorbing gut suture but these sutures seldom breakdown before they need to be removed.
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June 18, 2017
Answer: Too long. Have these removed immediately. Many surgeons use absorbable sutures and magically think they thereby don't need to remove the sutures. To avoid causing scars and suture tracks, the sutures need to be removed 5-7 days after surgery. For a variety of reasons, a few supporting sutures might need to be left for 10 days. Sutures need to be left in longer when a laser is used to make the incision (A great reason not to use a laser). Staples also need to be removed in the same time frame. Absorbable sutures almost never disappear this fast. Common absorbable sutures take much longer to break down. Chromic sutures take 90 days and Vicryl sutures 75 days to fully break down and disappear. I use absorbable sutures and frequently use so-called fast absorbing gut suture but these sutures seldom breakdown before they need to be removed.
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