Home > Blog > Hand Therapy > Wound Care > Stitches Removal

book your physio appointment today

Stitches Removal



After your wound care following any open wound injuries or post surgery, once your wound has stabilized and healed, you will need to remove your stitches.

To remove your wound stitches, you can either go to

  • polyclinic (the most affordable, but also the longest wait)
  • private GP (faster than polyclinic, but more pricey than polyclinic)
  • specialist who did the procedure for you (most expensive and waiting time is varied)
  • with us in Phoenix Rehab Group Singapore, which is appointment based (can be done in conjunction with hand therapy or physiotherapy with us too, which makes it more convenient)

Most of the time, it will be around 14 days to 21 days following the first stitching, for the wound to stabilize and then be ready for the stitches to be removed.

Stitches Removal
How It's Done

Doctors often abbreviate this procedure to "STO" which we think it's short for "sutures take out", and stitches removal are done using a STO Removal Set, which contains:

  • tweezers
  • sharp medical scissors (in some cases, some practitioners prefer using a blade to cut the stitches)

We use the tweezers to secure and hold the stitch in place, then slip in the medical scissors between the knot and cut the specific knot, and then with the same tweezers, we will remove the cut suture.

Depending on the size and complexity of the sutures removal, it'd take around 5-10 minutes at most.

stitches removal: possible complications

Some complications include:

  1. stitches being "stuck" or adhered to the healed scarring/skin, and this commonly happens. We will have to give a little massage and tug, and it should come loose
  2. dissolvable stitches not dissolving well - we will then have to remove them if the scar has formed and wound has healed well, but the presence of the dissolvable stitch may cause very small wound/slowed healing
  3. when removing the stitch, it starts to bleed. Mild and painless bleeding is fine and common.
  4. if the wound "didn't stick well enough" and starts to gape, we may have to put on special tape to keep both ends of the wounds together

summary

Once the stitches are successfully removed, then you can continue with hand therapy and/or physiotherapy as usual.



Back to Top

book your physio appointment today

Phoenix Rehab & physiotherapy Services

Phoenix Rehab Group works with specialist physiotherapists and rehab therapists who are highly trained, qualified, experienced and passionate to provide high level of expert care to our patients.



HAND THERAPY &  SPLINTING

Patients who sustained injuries to their elbows, forearms, hands, wrists (sprains and fractures) and fingers, and requires Hand Therapy to increase the function of their hand following injuries or post-operations as well as custom made hand splints.

Commonly treated hand pain injuries includes



CLINICAL PILATES & WELLNESS PILATES

Clinical Pilates is a form of physical exercise that focuses on posture, core stability, balance, control, strength, flexibility, and breathing. It is a system of safe and effective exercises, which meet specific individual needs, to treat a wide range of injuries and conditions.

You may do Pilates as matwork or with the reformer or both, and every session will be customized 100% to your fitness, injury and tolerance.



TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE (TCM)



DEEP TISSUE RELEASE & SPORTS MASSAGE THERAPY

Sports and deep tissue release massage helps to increase nutrient-rich blood flow to tired , tight and tense muscles to accelerate recovery and shorten downtime. It also prevents muscles from scar tissue micro-tears (and potential ruptures), and increases muscle performance.

Done regularly, it will keeps your muscles healthy and fit with body/movement-confidence. Read the benefits of regular deep tissue release therapy here.



ALTERNATIVE THERAPIES

All our allied health therapists and TCM physicians are fully insured and registered with Allied Health Professions Council (AHPC) and Traditional Chinese Medicine Board (TCMB).

See our entire team here with introductions and their specializations.

At the first session, our specialist physiotherapists will carry out a thorough assessment, helping them to select the most appropriate treatment to help you recover as well as provide treatment in the same session.

Follow up sessions are inline to provide expert treatment for your pain as well as prescribing specific exercises to reduce your risk of re-injury and giving you a long term solution.

do Tell Your Family, Friends And Colleagues About Us =)

We appreciate you as a patient and want you to know that the #1 (and only) way we grow as a clinic is through word of mouth referrals from valued patients like yourself.

We do not rely on advertising - instead, we prefer and appreciate the goodwill and positive reinforcement from patients. When you have the chance, please tell your family, friends and physicians about the positive results and experience you have had in our physio clinics.

book your physio appointment today