After a surgery you may have stitches as the method to close your surgical wounds. Some people feel that the stitches are bothers for them. The reasons are they feel sick of taking care the stitches or they experience an normal healing reaction such as an itching stitch. Another reason (although it is less important), they feel uneasy when they see the stitches within the body. You may feel one of this discomfort experience and you may wonder about how long does the stitch has to leave in until it can be removed.
First of all, you have to know that the ideal time depends on many factors. Your doctor is the person who knows it for sure. Check with your doctor about how long you need to leave the stitch in and he will tell you how long you have to wait until it can be removed. Usually, when deciding how long to leave your stitches in place, your doctor will consider several factors, such as the location, depth, and size of your wound, your general health etcetera. Be sure to follow his or her instructions.
Next, you have to know about these factors. You may wonder : Why do the amount of time of waiting for your stitch to be removed has to depend on those factors?
The location of the Stitch
Different parts of the body heal at different speeds and affect the ideal time of the stitches to leave in after a surgery. These example about the stitch location may help you to understand about it.
A knee laceration will require the stitches to remain in place longer than on the thigh. Why? Since the skin will be stressed each time the knee flexes and extends by walking, sitting, and standing and it take a longer time to be completely recovered.
Stitches on the face are usually removed within five days since there is such good blood supply in this region and healing occurs more quickly.
The other places may vary in case of the ideal time of leaving the stitches in :
- From the hands and arms in 5 to 10 days.
- From the feet, legs, chest, abdomen, and back in 7 to 14 days.
- Over a joint in 7 to 14 days.
The Wound Itself
Another factor is the surgical wound itself. Of course its size, depth and its class of wound also affect the ideal time of leaving the stitches in.
The Wound Infection
The infection that occur also can be considered. If the wound is infected usually because the patient do not care the wounds carefully, by doing the wrong wounds care or applying any kind of material or method on without consulting it with the professionals ( their doctors). Those can make the stitches you have to stay in longer because you have to heal the infection in the first place. Your doctor may give you any extra care for your wound such as antiseptics. This factor is the reason why you have to be careful when you are taking care of your wounds.
In conclusion, hopefully all of this information can be the references for you to understand more about your surgical stitches. So, it is highly recommended for you to ask it directly to the professionals such as the surgeon who have done the surgical procedures ( include surgical stitches and surgical care) to you, to get the specific information of time based on the judgement of your wound or its stitches condition. It is because, as have been mentioned during the explanation, the ideal time of your stitch to leave in until it can be removed depends on many factors that only your surgeon, who treat you directly, can give you a decision about it.
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