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Staples or sutures

Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
What do you prefer to have if you have experienced both for donor closing.

I had staples in a wound on my head and thought they were very uncomfortable.I opted to have sutures when i had my Hair Transplant with Ron Shapiro and they did not bother me one bit.

I know some of you will only had one or the other but i would still like to hear what your experience was like.

Thanks bm.
 
timuk

timuk

My member is cooler than NN's
Hi BigM..

I had staples and thought that they were supposed to be the "new best thing"... to be honest I found them very uncomfortable and had a hard time sleeping until they were taken out (I do know this is very common)...

Yet.. seeing results of sutures (stitches I presume) I can't see any difference between them. I

s this a case of staples being easier for the surgeon ?

Tim
 
Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
Hi Tim

I dont know if there is a difference in scar healing/closure etc using either but i know from my own experience that i like you felt very uncomfortable when i had staples in my head.

My donor area from SMG had inner sutures and then outer sutures which may have helped in creating a very thin donor scar for me.

Staples are a lot quicker i know for the doctor to close up your donor area.
 
Baldspot

Baldspot

Valued member
Would it be fair to say that sutures take more skill on the part of the surgeon than staples?

If staples give better long-term results then that would make it worthwhile - it sounds like staples are generally pretty uncomfortable for the patient.

I don't think I'd be too impressed if staples were being used purely because it let the surgeon finish early at the expense of the patient's comfort for the next several days.
 
timuk

timuk

My member is cooler than NN's
Hi Baldspot...

That was my main thought... to speed up surgery at the expense of the patient...

But.. Janna has now stated on another thread that either can be used and it depends on the which is more suitable at the time.

I must admit that I was under the impression that staples were the best as they almost guaranteed a "pencil thin" scar...... but this does not seem to be the case.

Given the choice I would now choose sutures if I could... I remember those 10 long days and nights with those horrible little buggers in my head...... what a nightmare.

Tim
 
janna

janna

Valuable Member
I don't think anyone can guarantee anyone anything when it comes to surgery. There are so many factors that can alter how a person heals that it seems to depend quite a bit on a person's physiology and skills of the surgeon.

Having seen results from both types of closures and also seeing how much discomfort I've seen some patients experience with staples, I like the two layer suture closure far better. I personally don't feel staples produces a superior scar. I'm sure there are plenty who disagree.
 
Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
Baldspot wrote:
Would it be fair to say that sutures take more skill on the part of the surgeon than staples?

If staples give better long-term results then that would make it worthwhile - it sounds like staples are generally pretty uncomfortable for the patient.

I don't think I'd be too impressed if staples were being used purely because it let the surgeon finish early at the expense of the patient's comfort for the next several days.
When i had my sutures removed the doctor and nurses at my local walk in center commented on how neat/good the sutures were and that it was a very clean closure.
 
Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
Any others would like to comment on their experience.
 
B

beardywierdy

What a Tool
I was under the impression that Dr Feriduni was going to stitch and I was a bit taken aback when he used staples; he said that he has started using staples since January. They are a pain though, literally.
 
north country boy

north country boy

Valued member
Hi BW did the doc say why he had changed to staples? ive now had both my 1st ht was staples (10 days of pain and no sleep) and 2nd with stitches hardly noticed them in, the only reason i can think he has changed is to speed up the op NCB
 
Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
The other thing i peronally like about sutures is that they are less visible than staples and easier to conceal with your hair.
 
Nervousnelly

Nervousnelly

The Coolest Member
I have had both and I have to admit that sutures were definitely more comfortable but I sit on the fence in terms of the donor closure. I agree with Bigmac that the sutures are less obvious and maybe a better choice for someone going back to work?

Personally I would want to choose sutures if the doc thinks that the scar would be the same but I could deal with the pain of staples if I had to.

NN
 
B

beardywierdy

What a Tool
I had these little buggers in for 6 days now and they are starting to bother me. I am not taking any pain medication though, just 2 tablets before bed. The thing is, it is difficult to say whether it is pain from the scar or pain from the staples, but I reckon it is the staples.

I will be glad to get them out Friday, but not looking forward to the removal.

cheers
 
Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
Hi BW

How is the donor area now that the staples have been removed.
 
B

beardywierdy

What a Tool
Hi Mate

Feels a lot better now those buggers are out. It still feels tender and is still a bit tender to sleep on, but it is getting better. How long does this tenderness last, on average?

On the scar itself, there is still some scabbing and my wife says it looks very neat and clean.

I am back at work now and have combed the hair forward and you cannot see any of the recipient area- might post a pic later, for the guys who are thinking of growing their hair to hide the recipient area. What do you think?


 
Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
I had a couple of tender areas on my donor scar for a few weeks after my sutures were removed,They will fade for you soon enough.

Be great if you coud post some pictures of the scar and how your hair covers the work.

Cheers bm.
 
Ron Shapiro MD

Ron Shapiro MD

Valued member
When deciding between sutures or staples I like to wait until the strip is harvested before making a decision one way or the other so both sutures and staples are available on the surgery tray each day. I'm happy with the results we get with either one. I generally perform the inner sutures then sutures but staples are thrown in the mixture once in a while. It really depends on patients laxity and tissue type.
 
Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
Thanks Dr Shapiro.

Do you use the inner sutures with staples at all?.
 
Ron Shapiro MD

Ron Shapiro MD

Valued member
For most cases I use the inner sutures for either staples or sutures. I feel the inner layer suturing will help produce a thinner scar from under the skin to top of skin surface.
 
Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
Thanks Dr Shapiro for answering my question,what i gather then is that you dont use staples as a time saving element,just if you think they are better suited for the individual patient as it takes time and skill doing the inner sutures.

bm.
 
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