UK Keratoconus Self-Help and Support Association

Hi there

I hope everyone is well. I havent posted for a while so sorry about that.

Tomorrow I am having my sutures removed after having had them in for two years. They were supposed to come out a few months ago but i was having light sensitvity issues and am a little now to be honest.

I am a little worried about tomorrrow. Is it painful? I think i am doing it under local and just wanted to know will i be able to go back to work and/or travel the underground to get home?

Any help would be appreciated.

Jester

Suture removal I would say is more uncomfortable than painful. That said we are all different.

When I had stitches out under a local I could hear the blade rasp on the stitches and feel a slight pull on the eye as the stitch was pulled out. The eye was sore for a few days afterwards. As you say you are light sensative take a good pair of sunglasses with you and mention it to the consultant so he can adjust the brightness of the slit lamp to make it as comfortable as possible.

There was no public transport where I lived and I had no car so always had a lift back from the hospital. If you do have concerns about travelling home aftre the stitches are removed there is no harm in asking a friend or relative to go with you.

Thanks for the reply.

I have asked my mum to meet me afterwards and then I will take the rest of the day of work I think. i haver also planned to work from home the day after but i think my boss is trying to encourage me to come in.

So you think it will be ok the next day?

For me suture removals are generally in the chair with local anaesthetic drops. I feel a bit of pressure and a mild pull, but no pain. I then have a 4 hour drive home, I always take a designated driver. I find after the local wears off a dull ache, sometimes I require paracetomol, after a few hours I am totally pain free. I live West of my opthalmologist, so the drive down is into the morning sun, and the drive back into the evening. (Maybe I should move lol)

Hi,

I had a broken stitch removed about two weeks ago. The doc put in a few drops of the yellow anaesthetic and removed it with tweezers. I could barely feel what was going on, which was good. My eye was sore from how I broke my stitch, so after the anaesthetic wore off, I still had the soreness.

You say you are having your sutures removed, does that mean your having them all removed or just a few? I ask because I was told by my consultant that mine will be removed in different stages, selective ones depending on how my cornea has healed. Everyone's different I guess and so are consultants.

Good luck with it