KKMD Follow Up Instructions KidKutsMD Consultants, LLC

Thank you for trusting us with the care of your child (or you!). KidkutsMD strives to consistently deliver compassionate and highly efficient care, and that doesn’t stop at the initial repair. We are now a resource for you to ensure that the healing process ends with an optimal outcome.

Following Repair:

• Your child’s activity level should remain low for 2-3 days after surgery, but will be able to resume normal activities following this.
• Your child can take a shower 24 hours following their procedure. If the revision is of a scar anywhere other than the face/neck, ask the office about instructions for bath; otherwise, baths are fine after 24 hours, as well.
• If there is any specific sport/activity that your child is involved in, please ask about when going back to this would be appropriate. However, for the most part, they should be able to go back to full activity after 1 week.
• Depending on where the repair is, the type of sutures and dressings placed will vary:
  • Most usually, sutures will be dissolvable, and there will be Dermabond (skin glue) that is placed over the incision line.
    • In these cases, there is very little aftercare required until the dermabond flakes off after between 1-2 weeks.
    • Baths/showers/swimming can resume after 24 hours.
    • From time to time, the dermabond stays longer than 2 weeks – this is fine! At this point, you can use a gentle wash cloth to lightly rub over the area, this will help the edges of the dermabond to lift off, and eventually loosen.
  • If SteriStrips (small, medical tapes) are placed over the incision line:
    • Showering can take place after 24 hours, please just take care that the surgical area isn’t being soaked (like in a bath) for long periods of time.
    • SteriStrips will loosen and fall off on their own after about 7-10 days.
    • If there are non-absorbable sutures underneath the SteriStrips, they will be clipped at a follow up.
    • If SteriStrips fall off before one week, you can replace them with a bandaid.
  • Sometimes, there will be *both* Dermabond and SteriStrips over the repaired laceration. In this case, the dressing may take a couple of weeks to fall off on their own.
• The type of sutures used (absorbable/non-absorbable) should be indicated by the surgeon at the time of the repair, but if you are unsure:
  • Blue or Black sutures: non-absorbable; Your child will need to come into the office for these to be removed around 7 days following the repair.
  • Tan/gold sutures: absorbable; These sutures do not need to be removed, and will loosen and eventually fall off. This typically happens after 1 week or so.
• If the repair was performed around the mouth/lips, please have your child eat soft foods for 3-4 days. Nothing requiring a lot of chewing/crunching.
• Depending on the type of injury, the physician may prescribe an antibiotic for a few days. Be sure you pick this up and that your child takes the full course!

Scar Care:

• Scar care is very important in ensuring the repair is optimally successful in minimizing the appearance of the scar.
• For 3 months following the procedure, the scar should be physically concealed from the sun. Depending on the location of the incision line, you could accomplish this in a few ways:
  • Wearing a hat when outside.
  • Using a BandAid or paper tape over in incision when outside.
• We recommend using a Scar Gel or Silicone Tape, however, this therapy would not begin until 3 weeks following the repair. We carry some products in our office that are tried and true. You can give our office a call to discuss!
• After 3 months, SPF-70 or higher should be used on the area.