Suture removal

[gadoty1]

I still have non desolvable sutures in where my drain tubes were and i am not scheduled to get them out till next Tuesday. They are getting red and irritated. Just wondering how long these normally stay in for and if I should call my doc. Also the top of my incision is weepy and red and has been like this for about a week now. The nurses looked at it when i went back to the hospital last Friday and said it looked fine but at 2 weeks post op i can't see why it's not drying out. The rest of my incision looks good and it might just be that the top of it gets rubbed by my shirts more and irritated. I'll probably call the doc when they open this morning.

 

[Ross]

It probably is the garments rubbing it and keeping it irritated. To me though, it sounds like it may be infecting. I'd have the Doc look at it early and if nothing else, perhaps he'll remove them early.

 

[danb1983]

The hospital said to me I had to wait 6 days after the drains were taken out before having the sutures removed, and thats what happened... they were a bit irritable but not red or sore or anything....

 

[geckley]

I'm 3 weeks post op and just had my last 2 stitches from my drains removed yesterday. I don't know what to say about the top of your incision. Could be from sshirts rubbing it.

 

[Bina]

A nurse removed by drain stitches after 2 weeks.
The top of my incision took forever to really close up.

 

[lisou]

My drain stitches came out before I left the hospital which was a couple of days after surgery. As for the top of my incision it took a long time to heal.

 

[gadoty1]

It is actually looking a little better today i think. Glad to hear i'm not the only one with stitches for so long. Tomorrow i go to my cardiologist for a Coumadin check so i'll have the nurse look at them and see what she thinks. I think the top is probably just irritated from my shirts.

 

[JeffM]

It is actually looking a little better today i think. Glad to hear i'm not the only one with stitches for so long. Tomorrow i go to my cardiologist for a Coumadin check so i'll have the nurse look at them and see what she thinks. I think the top is probably just irritated from my shirts.

Glad to hear it seems to be improving. I did not realize so many surgeons sutured the drainage holes. They left mine open and they drained for another week before finally scabbing over. Now they're just little slits.

 

[kfay]

I didn't have any sutures for my three chest tube incisions. As for the part at the top of your incision, there is usually a top knot there (even though you may not be able to see it) where they tie off the run of stitches. It may be trying to work its way out. Just keep an eye on it.

Kim

 

[pamela]

That's what happened to me, Kim. I did go to my GP and he (hurt me) reached in with tweezers and tugged it as straight as he could and snipped the knot off. There aren't a lot of blood vessels to keep your lymph up in that area, so ofttimes the suture knots, which are harder to absorb in the best conditions, will work out rather than dissolve.

So, anyone, if you get oozy and inflamed tissue around the wound, definitely see your doc.

 

[gadoty1]

I went today to get my stitches out and have my incision looked at. The top of it actually has come open about a quarter of an inch and doc told me to put a little neosporin and a bandadge on it until I see him next tuesday. He pulled the stitches out and said they were just irritated due to the skin growing over them. My incision actually doesn't have any stitches in it. It was only held together by skin glue this time. I did have the top not problem with my first surgery though and i think that is what caused the top of my original incision to go keloid.

 

[Montrealer]

Chest tube 3 days...........staples 9 days.

 

[Lisa in Katy]

I was going to recommend that you clip and pull the offensive stitches yourself, but now it's a done deal! I worked at a plastic surgeon's office and removed stitches on more than one occasion. I've also removed stitches from my pets after spaying. It's really not that big a deal and okay as long as the incision is well on its way to healing. In this particular situation, since some doctors stitch and others don't, they obviously aren't really necessary. I had a stitch holding the drain tube in, but they clipped it when they were ready to remove the drain. I didn't have any stitches afterwards, just steristrips.

 

[gadoty1]

yeah, my doc actually told me i could have removed them myself if I wanted but I was too chicken. He snipped them and then ripped them out faster then I could blink. Thank God cause I would have pulled them a lot slower and they burned like a fire ant!

 

[gadoty1]

My incision actually doesn't have any stitches in it. It was only held together by skin glue this time. I did have the top not problem with my first surgery though and i think that is what caused the top of my original incision to go keloid.

I guess i was wrong, the doc told me it looks like the top knot came undone and that is why the top of my incision has an opening about the size of a dime. I thought they told me in the hospital that it was only held by skin glue. Oh well. As long as my ticker is working the scars will fade eventually.