Using Staples to Close Strip Surgery

Dear Dr. Rassman,

In one of your previous posts, you said that a scar from a strip surgery will be at about 80% of healing after 6 weeks. From that logic, I wonder if keeping the staples longer after a strip surgery (for 6-8 weeks, rather than the usual 14 days for instance) would help in getting a better scar…

I know that for practical and cosmetic reasons, keeping the staples longer can be problematic for many people, but in special cases where there is more tightness due to past surgeries (or a history of enlarged strip scar) wouldn’t this be a good solution to help getting a finer scar?

Or, would this in return create other problems such as:

1-skin growth around the staples?
2-Train marks?
3-Shock loss around the scar?

Thanks for your help

Scar formation and wound healing is not that simple. Aside from the technical aspect, everyone heals differently and scars differently. Leaving staples in for about 10 to 14 days is what we generally do. We leave the staples in for up to 21 days in some patients. Sometimes leaving staples in longer will cause the familiar Frankenstein or train track marks (as you state).

In the end there is no universal solution to closing a tight scalp. One solution does not fit all patients and it is up to the physician to address it on his/her individual basis. I know this may not be what you are looking for, but it points to the fact that sometimes there is just no specific answer. Leaving the staples in for 6-8 weeks will cause undo pain in most patients.