Hi friends, all of my incisions look good and are closed. One small one is giving me trouble, a few stitches popped up and the scab fell off. im left with a tiny gap thats red and moist, a little red but not bad. it drains a little. Im not sure if I should try to pull it together with steri strips or leave it uncovered and wait til another scab forms. I have a call in to my doc office to see if I need a antibiotic. I really just think the thick scab was protecting the area and now thats its gone it looks scary. Anyone have any advice or did this happen to them?

This happened to me as well. I was told by my surgeon that this might happen and to just keep the area clean with hibiclens and it will close/heal up on its own. I was also told to tug a bit on the popped stitch and it would eventually come out. But, please make sure your hands are clean before tugging.

thanks Tricia, I see my doc today just to be sure. Im ok with having a raised scar but just dont want it to be infected.

you need to get steristrips to seal it together or it will turn into an ugly scar. recently I had this happened when I was showering after laproscopic surgery on my elbow - the gap needs to be closed because its deeper than usual, and can easily get infected.

I had several stitches pop up and was instructed to put a little Neosporin on them and not worry about it. They looked like a pimple-type area on the incision with a stitch sticking out. I pulled on them (gently) with some tweezers every few days and when they dissolved enough they slipped right out. They heal right over. I am assuming you are talking about about a tiny spot where the stitches are sticking out and not an actual opening in your incision.

I suppose it depends on how big the gap is DAA. If it's only a few millimeters then I'd say just keep it clean and dry. As long as it's not showing signs of infection like red (not just pink, but red and inflamed) or pus coming out of it (not just clear, watery stuff). Studies have shown that anything over 8 hours old don't do well with stitches and steri strips. They are prone to poor healing and infection. I would think this wound is over 8 hours old since you said a scab fell off of it.

Anything bigger than, oh say a quarter of an inch I'd probably clean with hibiclens and get some steri strips. If it's that big, it's not going to heal well either, puts you at risk for infection with it being open and will leave you with a big scar. The risks of closing it are less than leaving it open.

JMHO as a nurse.

its about 1/8 of an inch. the doc said its not infected at all, just new skin trying to regrow. It has filled in a lot since friday/ Im not concerned about scars at all. Over time they will fade. Just glas to know there is no infections!