Okay, so all of my incisions healed nicely..except for one.

I am 3 weeks post op and have recently discovered why a small part of my incision where my band is placed is not healing. It has about 1/2 or less of "stiching" hanging out. It looks alot like fishing line. I tried to give it a little tug but it didnt budge. It doesnt hurt just scares me a little. I cant just run to my doctor cuz I'm in Texas and he's in Mexico.

I guess I should try to find another obesity surgeon and see if he will see me.. They say thats not always easy, either. Please tell me someone else had this and what the end result was...

I'm becoming a little "freaked" out. :tongue2:

I had the same thing, and my doctor's office said to press on the area slightly to get the stitch to pop out as much as possible and to cut it off with sterilized scissors or nail clippers. They said to definitely not pull on it. I just cleaned a pair of nail clippers with alcohol and clipped the little piece sticking out carefully, without touching my skin. It eventually completely disappeared.

It's very common and nothing to worry about.

Edited January 12, 200917 yr by kiz

You need to call your surgeon and find out what THEY suggest you do. Only he knows what kind of knot, suture material, etc etc.

And Hugs to you when I say this...you need to line up local care and fills. This won't be your only issue. That's the big drawback to going out of your city (and I mean that...next state, next country, doesn't matter)

the aftercare is as important as the band itself and you need to have access to it. Line it up now.

(Who'd buy a car if you couldn't get gas and oil changes for it? The band without follow up care is pretty similar)

Do you have health insurance that covers visits to the Emergency Room? If so go there and they will take care of it for you. I had the same thing happen and i just squeezed it until it came out the rest of the way.

I had the same issue in two areas, as did my son when he had stitches in his head. Don't tug...it's holding the inside together.

I clipped mine too. Calling your doc, even though far away, is a good idea since it's bothering you.

Congrats on your surgery! I hope you keep healing nicely!

Just clean the area and clip it off at the skin.

I had that happen to. It's a dissolvable suture used in the subcutaneous tissue. It's not a big deal. Clip it, keep the area clean and dry, and unless you develop signs of infection don't worry about it!!

I had that too, and my dr. told me to leave it alone. He said it would go away on it's own, and it did. He told me if it really bugged me, I could clip it, but once he told me it was very common, I just forgot it was there and it eventually dissolved.

I have the same thing also. I wanted to mention it when I got my fill, but I forgot. I have an appt with the office in 2 weeks, so I am going to mention it when Iam there. Its not bothering me, and I know not to pull it, and nothing is infected, so I will wait for him. From what I am hearing, its common

You poor thing. Go to your primary care doctor if you have one, but don't pull or tug at it. Let someone in the medical field look at it.

Keep the area clean and dry and whatever you do don't play around with the thread.

I agree about calling your doctor or maybe clipping it in a sterile fashion. It is probably best left alone as is - pulling or squeezing it isn't good for healing.

Your regular doctor should definitely be able to help with this. It is really a minor issue.