do staples always come out?

I feel stupid to have to ask this, but here goes:

I had a TAH 2-1/2 weeks ago, and saw my doctor last Wednesday for my 2 week checkup. Things were so rushed that I didn't have a chance to specifically ask here when/if my staples needed to come out. She looked at the incision, said it looked fine, and told me to just leave the steri strips alone until they fall off by themselves.

does that mean that I've got some kind of dissolving staples and they don't need to come out?

If I remember correctly from my c-section and from what the doc told me to expect after my TAH, steri-strips are used after the staples come out and hold the incision site together while you heal. Don't pull them off, though, you want the scar to be minimal and letting them fall off when the adhesive wears out is the easiest (and most comfortable) way to go. I had to plaster them down a few times so they wouldn't catch on my underwear material, but that was the extent of my discomfort. I'll let you know about my post-op TAH steri-strips when I get back from the castle (around 8/4).

Take care of yourself and I'll be thinking of you all when I go to the castle, Sophia ;-0

Steri Strips are used after they take your staples out. They probably took yours out in the hospital, and then put the steri-strips on; they should fall off on their own.

M

In my case my staples were removed 1 week post op. I then got steri strips, which some fell off on their own, the rest were removed 2 weeks post op.

My staples were removed 2 weeks post op and then they applied the steri strips which hung on LOL for another two weeks

hmmm...this definitely sounds weird then, since the steri strips were already in place when they took the big white adhesive bandage off the day after surgery...

tgio, Did you have staples when they took off the surgical dressing in the hospital? Or just the steri-strips?

My incision did not have staples. My doctor used a type of derma-glue with a long stitch that ran underneath the incision, the thread came out on either end of my incision and was removed at one week post op. I never had staples.

I'm really not sure, since the steri strips have always been covering up the incision ever since the recovery room.
Originally, it looked like there were some dark lines under the steri strips, and I thought they were staples. But they have faded. So I'm not sure.
But nothing has been removed, and my next appointment is at my 5 week mark.

I think you would have been told if you had staples. Also, they are big and look, well, just like metal staples-they stick up from the skin. They use a special tool to take them off. I had half removed in the hospital and half at 6 days post op.
You could call and ask, but not everyone gets staples-it depends on the incision, the surgery, and the doc. They would have been removed by now if you had them. You can call and ask for a copy of your surgery report, or you can call and ask the doc's nurse how the incision was closed. Then you will know for sure

You would definitely know if you had staples. They look like big staples and they pinch after the first few days. I'd say you had some kind of dermabond or stitches. You got lucky!

M