How long do you leave those Steri Strips? after Surgery?

[Microman]

Wife had a Thorascopic surgery, and there are 3 holes covered by 4x4's and then these Steri Strips, or those STRONG Small Bandaids that hold things together.

How long should those be left on, after arriving home.

4x4's long gone.

Will be talking with dr's today... Just getting a general idea if it's safe to take them off, or should just let them come loose.

[dad@home]

As long as possible..... until they fall off on their own.

They are used to hold the skin edges together until the repair/hole can make a strong bond. If you take them off early the wound edges could pull apart and increase the size of scar. It's mostly a cosmetic thing.


dad

[mrthuse]

What dad@home said...

Leave 'em alone and ask the doc. They should fall off by themselves when the healing's almost complete. Good luck.

[rgG]

Third vote for letting them come off on their own. My mother-in-law had those on a wound, and she said the doctor had told her to leave them on till they come off on their own.

[Black]

dad@home wrote:
As long as possible..... until they fall off on their own.

They are used to hold the skin edges together until the repair/hole can make a strong bond. If you take them off early the wound edges could pull apart and increase the size of scar. It's mostly a cosmetic thing.


dad

Partially agree. You want to leave them on and let them fall off by themself.
Holding skin edges together does not necessarily make for a better scar though-- the main purpose is to protect the wound from contamination until there's a solid wound bed.

[Lux Interior]

Did they nail the 4x4s on?

[Spiff]

Lux Interior wrote:
Did they nail the 4x4s on?

If they knew what they were doing, they would have used screws for the 4x4. Much more sturdy.

[Chakravartin]

Ask the surgeon or a surgical resident who was involved in the surgery.

I was given the wrong instructions by the doctor who checked me out of the hospital. As a result, I left my bandages and strips on for longer than necessary and then re-bandaged the wounds when I should have left them uncovered. I don't know that it made a difference ultimately, but it could have made the scars worse.

I didn't find this out until I had a follow-up appointment with the surgeon two weeks after surgery.

[wowzer]

Holding wounds closer means less scarring. The purpose of steristrips is to avoid skin maceration....and they are cosmetically better.

Otherwise, I've also told patients to leave them on until they fall off by themselves.

Black wrote:
[quote=dad@home]
As long as possible..... until they fall off on their own.

They are used to hold the skin edges together until the repair/hole can make a strong bond. If you take them off early the wound edges could pull apart and increase the size of scar. It's mostly a cosmetic thing.


dad

Partially agree. You want to leave them on and let them fall off by themself.
Holding skin edges together does not necessarily make for a better scar though-- the main purpose is to protect the wound from contamination until there's a solid wound bed.

[NewtonMP2100]

.......I ripped them off as soon as I got home.....and it felt good.....!!!