Stitches After Blepharoplasty
Depends on type of stitch used
Most dissolvable stitches in the eyelids are usually completely gone in the first seven to ten days after the surgery.
Some types of other dissolvable stitches may take several months to dissolve which are not typically used in eyelid surgery.
It really depends on the type of stitches used. In our practice we use 6-0 fast-absorbing catgut, which dissipates within six to seven days after the surgery.
For many examples of eyelid surgery results, please see the link below (William Portuese, MD, Seattle Facial Plastic Surgeon)
Stitches from plastic surgery
Doctors use many different kinds of stitches. Each one has a different absorption rate. The fast absorbing sutures of the eyelids are usually fast absorbing gut stitches of 5-0 or 6-0 size.
These will usually dissolve with 5-8 days. If they are still hanging around I tell patients to moisten them with bacitracin ophthalmic ointment. (Steven Wallach, MD, Manhattan Plastic Surgeon)
Fast Absorbable Plain Catgut stitches will disolve within two weeks
If the sutures are 5-0 or 6-0 fast absorbing plain catgut stitches (which I use) They dissolve over 7-14 days. If they are anthing else (Richard Gentile, MD, Youngstown Facial Plastic Surgeon)
Permanent stitches are better and should be removed
Stitches after blepharoplasty recovery
Most board certified plastic surgeons will use a permanent suture for the upper eye lid surgery. This suture is removed at day 5-7.
The eye lid skin is very thin, and leaving an absorbable suture will create an inflammatory reaction that could make the scar look thicker. (Hisham Seify, MD, PhD, FACS, Orange County Plastic Surgeon)
Get the stitches removed
I believe most surgeons use Prolene or Nylon for their lid stitches. Dissolvable suture is less common because they don’t dissolve within the 5 days that they need to to prevent stitch marks. Have the sutures removed. (Christopher L. Hess, MD, Fairfax Plastic Surgeon)
Plastic surgery stitches need to be removed
Stitches after blepharoplasty Monocryl
If your stiches are not gone after 7 days you need to ask your doctor to remove them. If stiches stay more than a week, there is a risk of track mark scars. (Kamran Khoobehi, MD, New Orleans Plastic Surgeon)
Upper Eye Blepharoplasty
There are many different types of dissolvable stitches. I don’t know which your doctor used for your eyelids, but If I were to use an absorbable stitch on the upper eyelids.
Fast Absorbing has tensile strenght for 5-7 days and is completely dissolved in 2 to 4 weeks. Other absorable stitches which have more tensile strenght but last longer in the skin include Plain, Chromic, Vicryl and Monocryl.
If your doctor used Fast Absorbing Plain stitches, you should expect the sutures to start falling out over the next week. The actual length of time will vary depending on the type, thickness and location of the suture. Gentle cleansing of the skin will facilitate the process.
Most doctors choose the suture material based on the length of time needed to hold the tissue together, the suture tensile strength, the handling and knot security of the suture and the tissue reactivity (which can influence scarring). (Daniel Reichner, MD, Newport Beach Plastic Surgeon)
Dissolvable stitches in the eyes
The eye area is very sensitive to inflammation and stitches. I am not sure that using a dissolvable stitch is ideal for long term healing. Return to your doctor to check and see that everything is healing well.
It does not sound like stitches in the eyelids should be around for 8 days. (Robert M. Freund, MD, New York Plastic Surgeon)
Leave the stitches alone
Talk to your doctor before doing anything different than they instructed you to do. Please be patient with your eyes – they will heal in time. Your doctor used a specific suture for a specific reason, so please don’t try to hasten the recovery by doing something unplanned. (David Shafer, MD, New York Plastic Surgeon)
Get Blepharoplasty sutures removed as soon as possible
If your surgeon used Plain gut sutures then getting them wet will usually do the trick. These sutures are quite friable.
On occasion they will not come out on their own and you must have them taken out. At 8 days post-op they are ready to be removed.
You do not want the sutures to stay in too long as a suture track cyst can form. My suggestion is to see your surgeon as soon as possible to have them removed. (Jeffrey Zwiren, MD, Atlanta Plastic Surgeon)
Dissolvable stitches can be taken out
They should have dissolved by now. Go back to your surgeon and he or she can take out the remaining sutures. You’ll be fine. (George J. Beraka, MD (retired), Manhattan Plastic Surgeon)
At this point, in my opinion, you are not far enough out from the surgery. After 2 weeks, I have my patients massage the incisions to help soften the firmness associated with the scar and sutures. It would also depend on the type of suture. (Peter Malouf, DO, Dallas Dermatologist)
Ask your doctor to remove stitches instead
On your next visit, why don’t you just ask him to remove them? Don’t do anything to the surgical site without first consulting your surgeon. (Scott E. Kasden, MD, Dallas Plastic Surgeon)
Upper eyelid dissolvable sutures
I use a few fast dissolving sutures in upper eyelids (in addition to to tissue glue) and have done so for over 20 years!
They do take 7-8 days to dissolve, especially when they dry but can be hastened by moisturizing them (q-tip with peroxide).
I have never (!) seen a cyst develop and so I feel comfortable with them. This is not to say that removable sutures aren’t equally good. (Andrew Pichler, MD, Sacramento Facial Plastic Surgeon)
Dissolvable sutures in eyelid surgery
The sutures in the eyelid should be removed between 3-5 days post-op otherwise it’s likely to develop cysts where the sutures were placed.
Most plastic surgeons would use non-dissolvable souchers and would remove them early. I use fine non-absorbable souchers and remove them in about three days.
Dissolvable eyelid surgery sutures, when used, should be removed early as well to avoid cyst formation. I would suggest that you have your stitches removed ASAP. (Farhad Rafizadeh, MD, Morristown Plastic Surgeon)
Dissolvable sutures In Upper Eyelids
Ideally, they dissolve in 4 or 5 days. In practice, this almost never happens, at least not for all of them. I use dissolvable sutures on all of my upper eyelid surgeries but still take out any remaining stitches 4 or 5 days after surgery. At that time, usually half are still there.
Left to their own, sometimes they take 2 or 3 weeks to all dissolve. When they last too long, marks can be left in your skin. You also of course, will have little sutures for people to notice and wonder what is going on well after the bruises are gone.
For the best long and short term result, I recommend having them removed if they are not gone on their own no later than 6 days after surgery. (Louis W. Apostolakis, MD, Austin Facial Plastic Surgeon)
Dissolving Sutures
My preference in upper eyelid surgery is to use a non-reactive permanent suture known as prolene. The suture is placed beneath the top skin layer and removed at 6 or 7 days. Absorbable sutures typically take 6-8 days to dissolve and fall out.
The variety most commonly used is a 6-0 fast absorbing gut suture. Occasionally a suture will be less “fast absorbing” and require removal. (Stephen Prendiville, MD, Fort Myers Facial Plastic Surgeon)
It Depends on the Suture
Some sutures will dissolve, some have to be removed. Dissolvable sutures will dissolve at various rates from just a few days to several months. In general, you should not try to dissolve sutures before they are ready to come out. In the upper eyelids, sutures should remain for at least 5 days to ensure proper healing. (D.J. Verret, MD, Dallas Facial Plastic Surgeon)
7-12 days, use some bacitracin
The most common dissolvable suture used in an upper blepharoplasty surgery is 6-0 fast absorb gut suture. This will generally absorb between 7-12 days. By using bacitracin ointment several times a day, the sutures will absorb slightly faster.
Good result can be obtained with either absorbable or permanent sutures. Some surgeons claim that permanent sutures have a reduced chance of leaving marks or thickening the scar.
This may be true, but there are no conclusive studies to support this assertion. (Paul L. Leong, MD, FACS, Pittsburgh Facial Plastic Surgeon)
Dissolving sutures for Upper Blepharoplasty
Every surgeon has his own preference for the TYPE of suture and the MANNER of closure. It is known that sutures left in for more than 5-7 days leave permanent dots (“Rail Road Tracking”) along the incision while sutures removed in 3-5 days leave no marks whatsoever.
Personally, while not having to remove sutures is easier on the surgeon the results of monofilaments stitches (nylon, prolene etc) removed early are much better.
I would return to the surgeon and ASK that my sutures be removed. Your scar will be much LESS noticeable. (Peter A. Aldea, MD, Memphis Plastic Surgeon)
No more than 10 days
The sutures usually dissolve between within 7-10 days. If they are in longer, you should ask your surgeon to remove them. (David C. Mabrie, MD, Bay Area Facial Plastic Surgeon)
Eyelid Sutures Upper Dissolvable
There are many brands of dissolvable sutures, each absorbing at a different rate. In addition, the same dissolvable eyelid sutures will be absorbed by a variable rate in each person.
A recent study examined the use of hydrogen peroxide and found that it can hasten sutures to dissolve. For this reason, we have patients “stop” the use of hydrogen peroxide three days after the procedure to prevent sutures from absorbing too soon. Any sutures remaining after a week to two weeks can be removed in the office. (Anil R. Shah, MD, Chicago Facial Plastic Surgeon)
Dissolving sutures
How long a suture lasts depends on what it is made of and how thick it is. In general , around the eye, I use either thin non-absorbable sutures which slip out easily after a few days or a mild biologic suture that melts away after a few days. Deeper sutures are meant to last longer depending on their purpose. (Talmage J. Raine, MD, FACS, Champaign Plastic Surgeon)
Sutures should be dissolved in two weeks
Eyelid sutures which are dissolvable are usually gone within two weeks. Sometimes small remnant are left which have to be removed. If they are left behind they can occasionally create small cysts which have to be removed. I use nondissolvable sutures and remove them in 1 week. I feel things are a little more in control then rather than have dissolvable sutures which may be partially dissolved and have to be removed. Either way works however. (Chris Thiagarajah, MD, Denver Oculoplastic Surgeon)
Dissolvable sutures usually disappear within one to two weeks after surgery.
There are a variety of dissolving sutures available with varying rates of absorption. On average they will be gone within one to two weeks after surgery. I expect that yours will disappear shortly.
Ideally, eyelid sutures have been removed or have dissolved within three to five days. If they remain any longer there is a risk that small cysts may form in the scar that may require surgical excision. (David A. Ross, MD, Chicago Plastic Surgeon)
When do you remove eyelid surtures
Every surgeon is different. My professors did not use sutures when I trained. They crimpted the skin together. I prefer to use one very thin suture (6-0)which runs under the skin like a basting suture and it is not reactive with tissues. I pull it out in 48 hours. I do not using absorbable sutures since the body must dissolve then by inflamation.
This leads to a red scar and hardness. (Gary H. Manchester, MD (retired), San Diego Plastic Surgeon)
Dissolvable eyelid sutures usually are gone in about a week.
I use removable sutures in the upper lids that are removed in five days. In the lower lids, I use rapidly dissolving sutures that usually are gone in about a week.
Different types of sutures dissolve at different rates so it depends on the choice of the surgeon. (Vincent N. Zubowicz, MD, Atlanta Plastic Surgeon)