Should stitches from a skin graft on my nose be removed?

Question

I recently had MOHs surgery on my nose that was closed with a skin graft. After a week the bandage was removed along with the stitches from the donor cite. I was given an appointment date in three months. What is going to happen to the stitches in the graft? Should I have been given an appointment to have them removed?

John Harbison, MD · Answer

The answer to your question entirely depends on the type of suture used.  While permanent nylon or prolene sutures are frequently used to close skin incisions, there are a number of dissolvable sutures that may be used as well.  It is fairly common to use dissolvable sutures (i.e.  a gut variety suture) to secure a skin graft in place.  Most dissolving sutures will be gone within 7-10 days although it is possible for some to stay around longer.  If all sutures are remaining, I would recommend following up with your surgeon, or even a phone call to verify the suture used.

Kristine Romine, MD · Answer

In some cases, surgeons use stitches that
dissolve over time. Common dissolvable sutures are made with polyglycolic acid
while common non-dissolvable sutures are typically made of nylon. Dissolvable
sutures may take weeks to fully dissolve and therefore, when I do grafts, I
usually remove the sutures about a week after surgery. In some cases, patients
become irritated by exterior dissolvable sutures which can affect healing of the
surgery site. Check with your Mohs surgeon to see if these sutures should be
removed.

Daniel Berg, MD · Answer

Typically sutures are removed from a graft at one week (sometimes two).  The exception will be if just dissolving sutures are used (example: fast absorbing gut).  These will disappear quickly on their own.Wisest course of action is to contact the surgeon's office and ask the question directly since they will know what kind of sutures they used.Good luck...

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