Remove a stuck suture (stitch)

[scottyp123]

I seem to post in this section more often than anything the older I get but I have another slight problem.

A few months ago I had some minor surgery to remove a lump or legion or whatever it was from the side of my leg (it was totally harmless, just an odd growth or something) although it was only a minor thing it needed a few stitches to heal up. For whatever reason the surgeon opted to use permanent stitches that needed to be removed at a later date, I suspect its because I never bother with doctors and checkups and the like and it was to force me to go back for a visual check on it more than anything.

Anyway they told me to book it in at the local clinic for 14 days time which I did but I did mention that whenever I cut myself etc I do heal up very fast compared to other people that do similar things but was told the it was fine the surgeon knows what he is on about.

So fast forward 14 days and the wound had more or less completely healed over the stitches, I think there was 4 of them and you could only see two of them remaining, the (young but fit) nurse tried her best to get them all out but it was so painful trying to remove them I had to tell her to leave what remained in and me obviously being a medical expert told her what was left in would probably come out like a splinter eventually.

That hasn't really happened and I have now got the end of a stitch poking out of the skin a millimetre or so at the centre of what is left of the scar and its starting to get a bit of a pimple around it. I have tried with a pair of tweezers to pull it out but again its very painful and just pulls all the skin upwards with it. I don't fancy spending another full day in hospital again and having to have some local anaesthetic which was just a painful as the stitch removal.

Regarding all of the above I could do with a question answering, either how do you make DIY local anaesthetic or how do you administer cocaine to null the pain. Alternatively if I can get someone else to give the stitch an almighty quick tug with tweezers whilst I look away do you think that might work too.

[Viperzs]

Honestly, to avoid risk of infection it's best to bite the bullet and give your GP a call.

Alternatively, to give you a PH answer, have you tried all the methods previously used as a child to remove a wobbly tooth? The door shutting method might work here.

[drmike37]

Call the original surgeon’s secretary. They will (should) get you into a clinic to have it removed.
This sort of thing happens all the time and it’s really easy to sort but people will insist on leaving it/going to gp etc.

[scottyp123]

I don't have a problem with going to a clinic so they can finish the job but there is no way its coming out without some sort of pain relief, I've tried for ages and it was stuck fast and hurt like hell to pull. Do these clinics have a local anaesthetic available to them, thought it had to be administered by a doctor.

To be fair even the local anasthetic I had with the original operation was no pleasant experience, they had to shove the needle all the way in for about 2 inches 5 or six timer all round the lump to make it effective.

Just to add, I'm not a wuss and faint at the sight of needles, the pain really was at my threshold of what I could take and I hurt myself quite a lot and don't really bother about it.

[Viperzs]

Locals can be mean things when they have to dig it deep, as you say, however for the stitch removal it'll only need to be a top surface administration I'd have thought so shouldn't anything like the one you had for the original procedure