Staples are used for enclosing incisions made during surgical procedures. How long staples are attached to the wounded skin depends on the severity and size of the wound, and patient’s healing rate. When the wound starts to heal completely, and no draining material from inside the wound is detected, staples can be removed. Normally, medical practitioners are required to do the task. It is too dangerous and painful for the patient to remove surgical staples by themselves at home. Limited knowledge about staple removal may also lead to removal mistakes and may instead cause infection. To know how staples are removed from a wound without causing major bleeding and wound re-opening, read on.

How staples are removed from a wound

Below steps are done by professional doctors and nurses to remove staples from a start-to-heal wound.

1.The entire wound is cleaned thoroughly with cautions.

Before removing the staples, the whole section of the wound is cleaned with an antiseptic solution such as alcohol, or saline solution. If debris and tiny dirt are trapped on the surface of the wound, it will be removed using sterilized tweezers. If new skin is not completely formed, cotton swabs are more recommended for removing debris and dirt in order to minimize possible pains.

2.Staples are removed from the incision using a staple remover.

• A staple remover is used by doctors and nurses for removing medical staples. This instrument works in a similar principle with tweezers. To remove surgical staples, some directions are followed:
• The staple remover is sterilized using boiling water or antibacterial solution.
• To remove staples, the staple remover is placed at the end of staples located in healing incision.
• The remover then is squeezed on its upper handle, causing the sharp end to pull out the staples.
• Removed staples are disposed.
• All staples are removed following its direction to minimize caused pains, although possible tingling, tugging, and pinch sensation can still possibly be felt.
• The entire wound is double-checked to make sure no staples are left.

3.Wound is cleaned with antiseptic.

When all staples are removed from the wound, the wound and its surrounding area is wiped with saline solution or antiseptic to get rid of any existing bacteria. This is important, especially if the incision is still draining and needs to be bandaged.

4.Wound is checked for signs of infection.

Post staple removal, the wound needs to be check thoroughly to make sure there are no signs of infection. Professional medical practitioners are able to tell whether or not a wound is infected by scrutinizing some symptoms which occur with infection, such as:

• Redness on the wound and around its surrounding skin.
• Swelling.
• Yellowish drainage.
• Terrible odor.
• Fever.

5.If signs of infection are absent, the wound is covered with sterilized dressing. To dress a wound with newly-removed staples, some considerations include:

• Separated skin after staple removal should be attached onto one another using butterfly bandages.
• Cover the incision with light bandage. This will prevent it from being scratched by the clothes and other external objects.
• Wear loose clothes around the incision area. This is important in order to avoid irritation and the possibility of infection.

In order to hasten healing process, you might want to pay attention to these things after the staple removal treatment:

1.If you are given oral medications, make sure you take it based on suggested schedule.

2.Expose the incision to the air for a certain period, but keep it covered most of the time in order to provide moist environment which is needed for faster healing and less scars.

3.Change the bandage regularly and watch out for the sign of abnormal drainage.

4.Visit the doctor to check for the healing process. It is important to review about some signs of infection that might or might not present.

5.When the incision heals, you can take off the bandage. However, make sure you do not pick any formed scabs, so that no skin cells are damaged. Damaged skin cells will cause scars, which may last for a long time and will restart the healing process, making it longer that it should be.