I sliced my thumb open on accident with a razor blade last Sunday. It went in at about a 45-degree angle and stopped when it got to the bone, or near it. The razor blade was brand new, and very sharp, so there was much bleeding but little pain. I was taken to the emergency room for stitches. I have three.
My question is that they’re supposed to come out on Monday, as long as it has healed enough (it might not be; it’s still bleeding periodically if I bump it or something.) It’s not red, swollen, or uncomfortable, and I have kept it clean, so it isn’t infected.
However, I don’t want the stitches out. They aren’t in the way and I often leave the bandage off while typing or doing something at home. I’ve grown quite fond of them and would like to keep them in my thumb as long as possible.
I asked around and some people seem to think that my skin will grow up around them. (They are not the dissolving kind.) I don’t believe this since my skin would have to climb up the string to do that. Someone else said the outer portion would fall off, and the inside would just get absorbed. I am also doubtful of this since they seem to be made of some kind of plastic. I was also told the longer they stayed in, the worse the scar would be.
My question is, how long is it possible to leave them in? Has anyone here had long-term stitches? What is the best way to make sure I have a nice big scar on my thumb forever? Would they be possible to remove on my own?
I am going to see the doctor on Monday, and I plan on asking him these questions, but I’m also impatient and would like to get some ideas sooner. If anyone actually wants to see my gory thumb, I took a photo of it (how it happened is discussed in my journal.)
Well, I had stitches in my finger once when I was young, and decided I didn’t want them taken out b/c I thought they looked cool, but one morning I woke up and they were gone - I think like splinters they will eventually work themselves out of your skin…IANAD
I was the opposite when I got stiches on my hand, they were in my way and I wanted them out. So stupid me took my nail clippers and cut the stitches and pulled the string (or whatever they used) out. I went to the doctor on the day they were supposed to take them out and got yelled at for doing it, there were parts that I hadn’t been able to get out, like splinters, below my skin. The nurse pulled, with a tweezers, the parts she could get a grip on out. The rest, like splinters, eventually worked their way out. I have a scar still, I think it would be the same regardless.
I don’t remember how long they were in there, but yeah, there’s a scar. Too bad it’s on my pinkie, so it’s hardly noticeable amidst all the other drunken window-breaking scars from my rebellious youth…
Not a good idea. A foreign body left in the skin, especially with a track to the outside, will eventually be a source of infection. The wound could open up again, leaving a big scar. Blood poisoning with sepsis and death would be the extreme case.
Best case scenario: They just stay there, getting snagged on things regularly, bleeding and being a nuisance.
On my left index finger where I almost cut 2/3rds of it off (no, not on purpose). The wound required 9 stitches in an area about 1 cm squared. In addition to what Qagdop said about infection, etc, let me give personal testimony about one other aspect. The longer you leave them in, the more painful they are to take out! The doc that treated me explained it as the collagen in the skin slowly bonding to the thread…all I know is that it hurt like a SOB!