Download a PDF copy of our Excisions (Surgery) After Care Instructions here.
Excisions (Surgery) –
POST-TREATMENT INSTRUCTIONS
Stitches are special threads that are sewn through the skin at an injury site to bring the edges of a wound together. Care for your stitches and wound as follows:
Keep the area covered for the first 24 to 48 hours after stitches have been placed.
After 24 to 48 hours, gently wash the site with cool water and soap. Pat dry the site with a clean towel.
Apply Vaseline® or Aquaphor® to the area once or twice a day (it is important to keep the wound moist).
Cover the wound with a piece of gauze and tape or band aid.
If there was a bandage over the stitches, replace it with a new clean bandage.
Do not lift anything heavier than 10 pounds for the first two weeks after surgery.
Your wound may be tender to the touch but as time goes on it should become less painful.
If your wound is on your arm or leg, elevate that arm or leg as much as possible to help with circulation, healing and to prevent swelling and infection, and you may be asked to use crutches.
Call our office if you experience:
Pain that gets worse a few days after the procedure
Pronounced swelling - A temperature above 100.5 for 24 hours
Redness (increased outward from the wound, greater than an inch), warmth, swelling, and pus-like drainage at the site
Bleeding- If you have bleeding, apply firm pressure over the gauze pad for 20 minutes. If it doesn’t stop after 20 minutes, apply pressure again for 20 minutes.
Who do I contact with questions?
During regular office hours, please call us at: 610-484-3761.
For non-urgent matters, you may also reach us by e-mail at imarcy@mycleardermatology.com
Your healthcare provider will tell you when to come back to get the stitches removed. We will also contact you with your pathology report as soon as it is available.