Dissolvable Stitches - Open to All Other Health Topics Message Board

sunshine6069 · 06-06-2003, 10:14 AM

On May 16th my son received a facial laceration just to the side of his left eye. He received 4 dissolvable stitches and 8 regular stitches. He had the 8 stitches removed on the 23rd. I noticed last night that the remaining 4 "dissolvable" stitches are protruding through the healed laceration, causing it to open back up somewhat. I contacted his physician thismorning who after giving me the run around, told me to contact the ER. The ER told me this is normal, and that it takes 6-8 weeks to dissolve. I'm worried that his body is expelling these stitches for some reason, but the doctors don't think it's a big deal. I however do. He has three strings protruding from the laceration, anywhere from 1/8 of an inch to 1/4 of an inch. Is this normal?

normorcrazy · 06-06-2003, 02:10 PM

Sometimes with dissolvable stitches, the inside will dissolve and the outside will not. With mine it looked like the incision was still open, but it was infact closed. It was just an outer layer of skin that was opened. I ended up pulling mine out on accident one day. It didn't hurt, and I actually barely pulled it while bathing and it came right out. You can very gently try tugging and see if they move. If not wait like the ER said and then just take him in to make sure it's ok to have them removed completely. Unless, the site starts oozing or looks infected, then you need to take him in immediately!!!