WIBU to remove my own stitches?

[WayfaringStranger]

My dissolvable stitches won't dissolve! They're irritating because they're on my hand and they're catching on everything. I can't get a nurse's appointment to get them removed for another 10 days and they're driving me spare. I can feel them pulling as I type! WIBU to carefully remove them myself? The wound is healed and looks good and I checked with my pharmacist to ensure that it's fine before I take matters into my own hands.

[BeeFarseer]

Do it. It's easy.

I've removed my own stitches and my own PICC line for chemotherapy!

[HoneyDragon]

Do it.

Ten days will drive you mad. I did mine from around my nipple as they were resolutely not dissolving and kept catching.

[WayfaringStranger]

Thank you all. Ok, I'm gonna go for it later. I've got to go out now for a dull family event. I'll want to poke my own eyes out by the end of the day, never mind pull my own stitches out.

You know, it's weird, I'm fairly brave about medical stuff. I inject myself weekly and have no issue. I had the op under local and enjoyed watching it but the idea of stitches being pulled out gives me the heebie jeebies.

[zoekickin]

I've always removed my own stitches as I find the nurses are brutal pulling them out lol. I had brain surgery last year, and had twenty staples in my stomach. The hospital sent us home with the tool the remove them, to give to the practice nurse. Hubby removed my head ones, I removed the stomach ones. Far gentler.

[YellowDinosaur]

No need to pull them out if that's what is freaking you out. Pull on them gently and trim them where they come through the skin. The internal bit will dissolve

[grumpysquash3]

Not quite the same, but I was sent home after shoulder surgery with a pain pump in, and instructions to remove it the next day "just pull it out quickly"
In the end I was a bit squeamish and anyway couldn't do it with my left hand, so DH did it. It was a tube a few cm long!
I think stitches would be ok though.

[AntiGrinch]

I've done this twice - both times places I could easily see (forearm and face). It was fine and much better / easier than trying to get an a appointment.

I boiled up nail scissors and tweezers to sterilise them, and used those.

[AntiGrinch]

which hand is it? Dominant hand or the other one? maybe ask someone for help if you would feel better holding the knot with tweezers at the same time as snipping with the nail scissors. If you have only one hand you can't do both. You might be fine though - you can see everything very clearly and decide what to dl.

[HicDraconis]

Absolutely take them out. Clean nail scissors with an alcohol wipe first.

Also suggest you cut one side very close to the skin and then pull out from the other side, so you're not pulling any stitch material that's been outside the skin back through the wound, if that makes sense.

It's easy and painless.

[FurryLittleTwerp]

Some people's skin just doesn't dissolve them in a month of Sundays - something to do with pH I think.

If the wound is well-healed it will be fine.

[SemiNormal]

Yes go for it. I did some of my sons because they told us to leave it much longer than needed and so the stitches had new skin growing over them! I managed most but there were some stubborn ones that I couldn't get so the nurse had to do those and she was a bit annoyed they said to leave them so long - apparently stitches in children can be removed sooner than in adults as their skin grows quicker (or so I was told).

[Bluetrews25]

Go on! Doitdoitdoit!
Photos or it didn't happen!
You'll be fine. They are YOUR stitches, you can remove the blighters if you've had enough and the wound is clean and healed. (You'd be saving the NHS time and money, too......look at it that way!)

[Madwoman5]

Sounds reasonable to me. Done it myself when mine didn't dissolve. Nurse at hospital after op said it may happen, what to watch for, how to clean etc before removing myself if needs be.

[SplodgeBear1988]

I have done my own(key hole surgery), my Hubbys and my best friends! You will find though that as they are disovable they wont pull through the wound as they aren't smooth(the ones that are ment to be taken out are non disovable and are plasticy so they glide). You will need to cut them and then soak them before gently pulling with clean tweezers.

[HPandBaconSandwiches]

Wayfaring if you phone the ward where you had the op done they may help and let you pop in to have hem removed on the ward. They'll at least advise if it's safe for you to take them out.

[user1493759849]

I guess there is no harm if the wound is 100% healed.

I have a lot of respect for nurses but also find it bizarre that the GP nurse won't take the stitches out.

Thing is though, earlier this year, I had a few stitches after a mini-procedure I had. 3 days later I went for a blood test (for something not connected to the mini-procedure,) and I asked the nurse if she would change the dressing for me. (The doctor who did the mini-procedure in his practice told me to ask the nurse who did my blood test in 3 days to change the dressing...) So I asked her... She said she couldn't change it, because she 'doesn't do dressings'!

I thought 'what the hell? you're a NURSE, and you ' don't do dressings? ' Isn't that basic nursey stuff?! Fuck me!

[user1493759849]

I ended up changing the dressing myself by the way! (When I got back home!)

[WellThisIsShit]

Ooh, good luck! I had some stitches put in that were made of ruddy wire... completely unnecessary and not based on my needs or medical situation at all.

Then went on holiday the day after (the hospital had failed to warn me about the deep gashes they'd do into my arm, I thought it was just a normal out patients appointment!).

My arm healed quite quickly, except where the metal stitches actually pulled holes in my skin and caused separate little bits of bleeding and open skin unrelated to the wound they were supposed to be sealing!

Anyway, after a week of awfulness, I went to a doc and gestured a lot until he got the ruddy things out! Through good gesturing on his part, he conveyed that he didn't even need to put dissolvable stitches in, just the little steri-strip plaster things.

Oh and antibiotics for the infection in the extra wounds the completely unnecessary and harmful wire stitches had caused. Ffs.

Anyway, I'm sure I had a point beyond ranting about unnecessary and painful stitches.

Oh yes, the itching, catching and annoyance... it gets SO irritating!!!

In fact, I had attempted to get the wire stitches out before going to the doctor on holiday. My stomach wasn't strong enough and was worried about doing more harm... tweezers and nail scissors I think I could cope with, but when you realize you need wire cutters, err, no!

I would have pulled out normal stitches though, as long as the wound had definitely healed ok. Failing that I'd be tempted to cut off the external bits that are catchingband being so annoying. Though maybe leave a tiny bit on one side to grab with tweezers if for some reason you need to pull the inside bit out too?

Good point by another poster, to cut off any remaining stitch on the other side from the side you are pulling.
Don't want to drag a manky bit of stitch into your body from the outside in... shudder!

Anyway, good luck whatever you decide to do :)

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

YellowDinosaur, you mean I forwent baths unnecessarily? grrrr.

[WayfaringStranger]

I'm hiding in the toilet at hellish family party. I discussed with relative who is an orthopaedic nurse and she said it doesn't look properly healed. For fucks sake, I was looking forward to take the stitches out after gathering up the courage. Given that I'm on drugs to suppress my immune system, she said a few more days. Sorry gang! I'll see how the land lies then.

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

:( poo. Good job you didn't unzip yourself!

[WayfaringStranger]

It looks healed to me but she said the part in the middle isn't quite there but not miles away. I knew there was some advantage to this family party. Thanks to OH's cousin's fiancé for saving the day and also for bringing epic chocolate cake. She did say that there's no real reason why I can't remove myself but to get it checked again in a couple of days properly before I remove.

I found a local private clinic that will remove stitches for £30 and I'm going to phone tomorrow to get an appointment in a few days.