Sutures in Suwanee, GA
There it happened, in a flash now there’s blood pouring, squirting, dripping, whatever the incident, you’re pretty sure it’s yours, and something needs to stop it. The worst id when someone stops you at the store and points out that you are leaving an actual blood trail down through the aisle. Whatever the cause, the next thought is how do I stop this and do I need stitches?
No matter how it happened, sutures are one of the basic, yet complex skills a medical professional develops. I often tell the story of my Grandfather, who was the town Barber in a small town in the mountains of North Carolina, Banner Elk. As the town barber he thought himself in competition with the local Doctor and carried all sorts of potions and salves in his shop including a shank of Horse Hair. If someone came in with a laceration (as anyone would go to the barber in a small Appalachia Town), he would thread up a length of horse hair and proceed to sew up the laceration. Even during the Civil War lengths of boiled Horse Hair was used as suture material.
I won’t say I inherited my Grandfather’s skills but instead spent a good part of my 4 years in Emergency Medicine Residency with one of the top Trauma Plastic Surgeons learning many techniques. And continue to hone those skills on all the household, garage, chainsaw, car mechanic, cooking, slicing, chopping, etc., incidents that come in the door. In addition to sutures, some injuries are easily repaired with special skin adhesives (but not any what have and tension placed on the wound.
Suturing itself speeds healing, helped prevent infection, improves functionality of the injured area, stops the bleeding, reduces scarring, and overall makes the wounded area as maintenance free as possible. Contrary to Social Network solutions, the skin gets most of the Oxygen from the atmosphere and not the blood supply. By covering the wound up with ointments, alcohol, peroxide, antibiotic creams, ointments, and salves, actually slow the healing process and result in local inflammation and scarring.
Sutures generally stay in 14 days and simply need be kept clean and dry. We will gladly remove them at no additional charge or feel free to let your friend with some medical training take them out. Any questions, simply stop by and we will take a look at them in the lobby and send you on your way. Generally, sutures need to be placed within 12 to 18 hours from the time of injury but there are always exceptions and even very old wounds can benefit from a well placed sutured closure.
