Just wondering...I'm at two weeks and of the five incisions, one incision, a mini one, has lost its steri strips. I have been covering the other incisions with big bandaids, but have gotten a rash from the bandaids, so I'm just gonna have to hope the steri strips are protection enough!

All the small ones came off fine but the big one refused to come off. It became one with my skin, my surgeon eventually took it off for me at my 4 week followup. You shouldn't really need bandaids to cover them up though. I was sent home with just steristrips covering mine but when in doubt call your surgeon's office.

I was sent home with steri-strips on my main incision, and just band-aids on the 4 little ones. Two days after surgery, they told me to remove the bandaids in order to take a shower. I kept putting a bandaid on the one near my belly button since it was rubbing my pants, but the others were fine. At my 1wk appt, my doc told me to take the steristrips off my main insicion if they didn't come off on their own within a week (so before 2wks post-surgery). I had to pull them off on my own, and once I did, my incision felt 100x better!

Being a man with a hairy chest might be a factor, but mine were off in 2 weeks.

I'm also allergic to adhesives on most bandaids/tapes. My doc told me that I could take any steri-strips that hadn't fallen off on their own at the end of one week-10 days. Mine did not fall off because they covered the steri's with big clear patch tape over each incision. I'd call the surgeon and ask when you can take them off.

I am allergic to the steri strips. Had bandaids on my incisions. My doc said I could stop using bandaids when drainage stopped.

I was banded on 4/29, was sent home with band aids over 5 small incisions. I went in for my post op appointment on 5/05 to have staples removed and steri strips applied. By 5/06 I had blisters where the adhesive was and the blisters were oozing (TMI). Not the incisions themselves but where the steri strips were stuck to my skin. So, I went ahead and pulled them off and put band aids on for a few more days. I must be allergic to that type of adhesive.

Hmm, so I guess I will gently encourage the strips to come off now. Thanks for all your input!

I was allowed to shower the day after surgery and "encouraged" them to go away starting then! At my one week doctors appointment she gave me some small pads that were like Goo Gone for the skin

they worked great.

I'm not allergic, I just didn't like how yukky they were

My first came off after about a week and the rest were removed by the surgeon at my 11 day post op

My surgeon removed them at my 1 week post-op... get rid of the steri-strips.... I doubt you need them.