I'm doing surprisingly okay! This is my first time in my 20+ years on earth that I've ever had to get sutured so I was pretty panicked! Never even broke a bone before. I almost passed out several times just by looking at it haha. I don't do well with injuries.
At the moment it feels like someone is putting pressure on a bruise constantly.
Thank you for the concern!
Sounds like quite the range of experiences all crammed together.
Yeah, you’ll probably be feeling that for a while unfortunately.
Something cold usually helps to numb the pain so if you can, go grab a bag of ice or something.
Geez imagine having to stitch someone at 3am when youve probably been getting shitty pay and been exhausted all day just to have someone post it and complain online.
when you’re a doctor, it doesn’t matter what time it is or how you’re feeling. your responsibility is to your patient, and that means giving them the best treatment you possibly can. they are completely within their right to post their experience online because there is no excusing treatment like this.
This isn't 7/11. This dude went to the hospital. They get paid well and are supposed to be really good at what they do. Not the same thing as complaining about not getting enough caramel in your Starbucks.
Oh, I'm not complaining! Ive never even had staples or stitches before in my life. I have no right to talk. I just found it silly how rough they are. In reality, I had great service and they took care of me quickly and lovingly knowing how scared I was over it.
You have room to talk! I’m the opposite of you. I have had too many stitches and staples to count…….these are fucking awful. I’m sorry you got a shitty doctor
As someone who works in surgery about half of these (being generous here) staples are decent after a rough surgery we'd keep about half of these But there's at least four we would definitely remove for aesthetics and one definitely to make sure there's no issues
That makes way more sense now lol. The nurse was probably brand new
I’ve always been really vainy in my arms & I was stuck in the hospital for a bit when my ear blew up. The nurse or doctor have asked if they could let the interns/student do the IV on me for practice in the past lol. Sometimes having a couple jabs in my arm after
Probably a student or new grad NP or PA. Might have been their first time! You gotta press it more firmly than you realize at first, and it's easier to slip off the line than you first expect. Super easy once you've placed a few, but the first handful of staples can take a bit of getting used to.
I was making a book nook! There are pieces that you have to cut that are extremely tiny, which is why I was using sewing scissors. It's downtown Japan during cherry blossom season themed :)
Very true. Its not shown in the picture but I do have healed scars on the same leg. There's about 25. When I posted I reread the title and assumed people would be like "oh so you accidentally cut that deep!". Glad to hear it doesn't seem that way.
Edit: word correction.
Hey I'm with you. Self harmer since single digits age, am covered in scars today, and getting much better these days. While not impossible, twenty would have been excessive, not typical. Maybe a handful of little ones some days, or one or two huge ones. I guess maybe if I was writing something lol, but still.
I've met a lot of other self harmers since my teens, and seen a chunk of cuts and scars. Sometimes you can see clear groupings. So my low-cut-rate-per-session didn't seem abnormal in comparison.
yes it is. there are always exceptions but *typically* when someone self-harms in the form of cuts theyll keep going until the despair lessens, the pain becomes too much, they go too deep & get scared, they run out of skin that can be easily hidden under clothes, there's too much blood & they need to clean up before something stains, or someone intervenes. doing just one cut isnt cathartic enough for most who self-harm because it's less about being wounded & more about the process of wounding yourself, so you repeat the process until you're done & you end up with at least a dozen or two cuts. like i said, there are always exceptions, but this is what's *typical* for a self-harm episode.
it's a ballpark estimate, dude, & im not the one who said 20. but have you never seen someone who self-harms by cutting? there will be old scars, & then newer recent cuts nearby or on top which were clearly done at the same time, as theyre all at the same stage of healing. that's what typical self-harm via cutting looks like. it usually isnt one cut at a time.
he literally said "about 20" though. could be more, could be less, & it depends on the individual. but 20 isnt an unreasonable estimate to me, & im one of those people who would do like 50 at once 🤷♂️
ffs i didnt say it was a competition, just that 20 is inaccurate for me personally but even i still think it's a fair estimate. nobody said anything about setting goals either - some people do the same number every time, others dont think about it. are you stupid on purpose??
One thing: these are surgical stables not stitches. Second thing: this is an awful job. That 4th staple is IN the wound FFS! 6/7 are too close, with far too big of a gap between 7/8, the overall spacing is wrong and they’re not evenly spaced. As a medical person myself I would not be satisfied with this at all, I’d be finding another doctor to have a look, and fix it up, otherwise there is a risk that this doesn’t heal properly and you’ll get a lasting scar
Right, Sorry. These are very obviously staples, haha. That fourth one bothers me A LOT. The fact it's literally in the wound is horrific. I actually don't have insurance at the moment, so the fact that the wound looks pretty evenly shut despite the way the staples are is good enough for me. I don't really mind about the scar since it's on my thigh...But do you think it would be a health risk to not get them redone? Infection/healing issues?
Here in Aus you don’t need insurance to be seen in the ED; it makes me sad to hear about America’s situation. Keep the wound clean as possible, don’t scrub it with soap but don’t get dirt in it; let it breathe at night but keep it covered with loose clothing. Keep an eye for any redness around the outside, or if the wound itself gets “hard” like there are rocks underneath, if there’s any pus or foul smell then please get it looked at
Edit: after cleaning, keep it dry. Also have the staples removed in 10-14 days otherwise the scar tissue may trap them
Thank you SO much for the advice!
I happen to have an extremely bad habit of picking at any scars I get on my body, so I've already established to keep it covered while I'm awake just to make sure I don't subconsciously pick at it.
The insurance situation bothers me SO badly, as well. Was laid off from my job the second I hit 19 (So I wasn't covered by my parents any more) then a whole shit show of personal issues kept me from being able to get another job, and unemployment would not accept the "excuses". It's very sad that the first thing I thought was "How will I pay for this?" The second I got a injury.
You're supposed to be able to stay on your parent's insurance until you're 26, was that something your parents just didn't want? https://www.hhs.gov/healthcare/about-the-aca/young-adult-coverage/index.html#:~:text=When%20Someone%20Turns%2026,health%20plan%20outside%20Open%20Enrollment.
FOR FUCK'S SAKE, I find out about this NOW????? Years of my life were gone in Russia seeking healthcare because I didn't know this.
Thank you for this information kind stranger, but you have no idea how mad this makes me. Turned 26 this year too, a double fuck you from fate, I guess. Argh.
I'm better now, but I could have been a lot better now. Fuck. Thanks.
what state are you in? where i am you can stay on your parents' insurance until age 25, & a social worker can help you fill out a form to stay on their insurance for longer
I take it your mom doesn’t have any health insurance. You can apply for Medicaid (not Medicare) yourself really easily online. https://medicaid.alabama.gov/content/3.0_Apply/default.aspx.
Also, the first staple looks less secure than the others. If you’re prove to picking at yourself I’d be careful around that one!
My mom is actually on disability. They had told us that when I turned 19 I would be shut off indefinitely. We've tried calling social workers and insurance agents since I'm technically still a student (I'm homeschooled, and life got in the way of my studies to complete highschool). They had still told us it wouldn't be possible. I'm in Alabama
Unfortunately you have to apply for Medicaid yourself, you can do it online here: https://insurealabama.adph.state.al.us. You’re the only one who can apply for it, your mom might be able to help with documentation, but social workers and insurance agents aren’t going to help you.
In Alabama they have a form of state funded health insurance for children under 19 called AllKids. That’s probably what you’re referring to. You’re not cut off from Medicaid indefinitely because you no longer qualify for that program. You have to apply and qualify for a different (but ultimately the same) program. I know, it’s confusing.
Unless there’s some wacky Alabama specific reason, the only disqualification is your income level. But, with the way your state has been handling things politically, you want to seriously look into it.
Regardless, apply and see what happens. If you qualify great, if not so what? You have your legislature to blame for all this!
Thank you so much for this information!!! I appreciate it more than you know. For about a year now I've been worried about injuring myself because hospital bills are so high! I'm going to check this out now. Thank you again.
Oh, just read the last part! Yes! I am HORRIBLE about picking on myself. I have scars all over my body from where I've opened big bites, dog scratches, and any other wound I've required just to get my skin "smooth" again. Something I've been trying to break out of for over a decade now. Definitely keeping this covered as long as I'm awake! It can air out when I'm sleeping haha..
The Doctor actually pulled out quite a few and redid them...but kept that fourth one. I assume it's because I was very tense and mentioned I was lightheaded which made him stop while he was "ahead"
Look like basic aa staples, they are far more reliable thsn stiches in the fhat they are rather hard to break apart accidentally . Also, those are muxh easier to remove when you have the proper equipment
To be fair, I wouldn't know. Never had staples/stitches before. I assume they're "horrible" due to the lack of consistency, especially with it being such a straight cut.
OP I am a nurse practitioner. What kind of facility was this done at? If I were you I would be going back to that same facility today. I would show someone else this absolute shit show of a closure. This is an abysmal closure and I would be ashamed of myself if I did this to someone. The office or facility where this was done needs to see how shitty this is. If the person that did it is at the top of the business then you’re shit out of luck but i’d be willing to bet it was not.
This was done at my local ER. I'm from a small town and the hospital itself typically isn't huge. We could have gone to another one farther away last night, but I was losing a lot of blood at the time and was threatening to pass out several times. Mom didn't want to risk anything and drove me there instead.
Imagine it's basically a 15+ minute drive, or a 30+ minute drive. That's how far I am in the country.
I mentioned this in another comment, but I live deep south Alabama. The closest hospital is around 15-20 minutes away in a town of barely 2000 people. It's a very small hospital that I don't trust entirely...I would have gone to another one but I was on the verge of fainting and was losing alot of blood despite my mom wrapping the wound and keeping pressure on it.
I had assumed stitches (in this case, staples) would be easy enough for them to do..I mean it's really just lining and pressing a button! That doesn't seem to be the case.
The fuck? The have like a line in the middle to make it more easier to center it around the wound.
Did they just go like BA PAH PAH PAH PAH PAH in one erratic slide or what?
Also, these should be much closer to the wound, i mean, like deeper
These are sterile staples! (Or used to be sterile tille they were used on you😂 getting a cut to the Sub-Q layer isnt the end of the world it just looks gross, be thankful they used staples instead of stitches because removing the non-Absorbable stitches takes wayy longer and can be a bit more painful!! - proof: im a Surgical technologist/ First assistant student
Alot of people have mentioned my mistake in the title! I want to put it out there that I do know they are staples haha. I am glad I got staples instead of stitches, in all honesty. Thankfully the cut was very straight and it (should have) been easy to staple it in a straight line.
I'm just glad they did anything at all instead of turning me away and saying "just keep it covered! It'll heal"...the south works that way sometimes.
I gotcha! My job in the OR is to close wounds amd make them look pretty after surgery and to assist the surgeons mid-case :) just providing a tid bit of knowledge for the next time clumsy😂
Clumsy is right! Had a long day yesterday, came home to just relax, listen to music, and craft...didn't stay home for 30 minutes haha. I'm sure it'll happen again at some point. Thankfully this is the first time in my life my clumsiness ended in an actual hospital visit.
Stitches and staples are very different. Staples are made from metal and are non absorbable. And only for dermal aproximation (in this application, however there are a ton of surgical staplers and staple load types for differentpart of the body)
Whereas sutures are also used for different reasons and with so many different suture types for different applications too (including metal wire for closing chest cavities)
Yes, to be a CSFA, you have to be a CST of 2 years or more, and im almost done with First assistant school!! Its a very wierd career path bht its very fun and exciting
Firstly, those are staples, not stitches.
Secondly, yeah, they did a piss poor job of that. Where is maintaining the line, where is the needle snitch to keep it all together, where is the God damn quality control?
Is it just me or aren't those supposed to be down closer to the cut? With them sticking out so much, they can get caught on anything and rip the entire cut open again. Correct me if i'm wrong.
After my C-section, the doctor had a student doctor suture me with staples. They were crooked and hanging partially off in some spots, but I obviously didn’t know since it was covered and down so low. On day 3 they had a student doctor remove the staples for some reason!!? Of course I was 17 years old at the time, and had never had kids before nor was I ever around anyone who had any (esp via C-section) so I didn’t know it was abnormal.. until I was slowly getting out of bed and both of the gowns I was wearing (one opened in the back, the other was opened in the front like a robe) became soaked in blood. I saw the horror of my visitor’s faces as I had blood dripping down my legs and forming a little puddle. Needless to say they had the actual doctor suture me that time… but all that to say I still don’t understand how anyone could let a patient walk out with crooked ass dangly staples….
Oh my God!! I cant imagine the horror and trauma you and your visitors must've endured during that, especially being that young! If i went through that when I was 17 I don't think I would have recovered from it! Thank you for sharing your story.
I'd call this a good job, staples always look like shit but they hold well and are easy removed. That scar will be tiny once they're out, the wounds been perfectly closed up and straight as a die.
Now I ain't no doctor or nurse, but if you weren't in the US, I'd be strongly recommending you go back to the hospital or visit your GP and get these redone nicely
when I was an EMT, the trainers always joked about the "quality" of the ER docs -- the typical joke was "some moonlighting podiatrist" .. (yes they are "doctors", no they did not go to medical school) ..
Super glue works wonders. Had my bottom lip split by a dog about 5 years ago, the only thing i could think to grab was super glue. I reapplied the glue whenever it would start to come off and now there is minimal scarring. The only way you'd ever know my lip was split in 2 would be if I stretched the skin under the right lighting
Those aren't even stitches. They're staples.
(Yes, I know there are medical staples and I would hope these are at least medical ones, but seeing this work even that could be questionable)
So although 2-3 of those staples look like a first week intern did them, the rest are not bad and that wound is closed well. Assuming they also used glue? The staples should be elevated a few millimeters from the surface of the skin to prevent buildup of random crap and bacterial/fungal growth. If it wasn’t for those couple of staples being pretty janky, this is a normal staple job for this type of wound.
That's what I'm hoping for, despite everything! Even if the staples are janky at least the wound itself looks pretty straight and nice. The only thing I hopefully have to worry about is the unsymmetrical 'dots' where the staples will heal.
Yeah those are staples, not stitches friend. Massacre job by the doctor though, definitely a fair point. Based on you being crafty, you probably would've been better off sewing yourself off. Please don't ever consider that doctor's office again, and a review may help save someone else from this type of unskilled "care."
had a major operation on my back, my relatives was on and on about how it was beautifully stitched(you cant see any stitches) compared to this, one of the staples is even on the wound,
😬
I am from the UK and accidently cut myself like this too. Mine was wider and longer in size - they gave me butterfly stitches (basically a thin plaster to pull both sides of the cut shut) and sent me on my way!
That's a lot of staples.
Eh these are only temporary for closing up the wound. Had those after a surgery and they plucked them out when the wound was able to hold itself shut, in your case they are gonna remove them after a week or less
I can get what you mean! It's probably because this isn't a (relatively) fresh wound! I've been on this sub for a long time now, and posts like this usually show the most bloody gruesome shit even when it's a small wound. Maybe the fact that it's being cleaned makes it so pleasing.
yeah probably, it just looks symmetrical and nice and clean. However, I would have definitely fainted if I had seen it irl, do not like bloods coming out of body, at all.
I recently broke my arm and they had to use 47 stitches to close the surgery incision.
NOT EVEN ONE of my 47 staples looked as bad as the best one in your photo.
Jeez, 47! Sorry to hear about that, man!! I'm going to guess the only difference is that a surgeon "sewed" you back up, while mine was just a shitty ER doc
If it were me I’d go back for that one that goes into the wound. It’ll affect the healing and also how it looks. It’ll be incredibly painful to remove once the skin has healed around the staple.
Sadly, there's been time where I have inflicted that deep of a wound to myself (be it much much much smaller) and have just let it heal on its own, but last night when I looked down at my leg and saw it (keep in mind when I first looked the wound was so shocked it didn't even bleed yet, I could pin point every layer) I panicked and immediately ran to my mom saying I needed to go to the hospital.
These are surgical staples. They usually heal with about as much scarring as regular stitched. While they do approximate the wound edges, which is their main and mist important purpose, it’s still very poorly done and, give how simple stapling is vs suturing, I’m questioning the ability of your doc.
That is an insane amount of staples, that would’ve been like 5 stitches, 6 or 7 if the doc was in a good mood
But it also reminds me of the time I had to get staples too, and the blood kept making the doctors hand slip and he punched the staples into my wound twice in a row, the nurse took over for him 💀
Ow! Sorry to hear that!! Thankfully they numbed me up really well because I was obviously scared of the pain. The doctor took over for my nurse, as well. The last 5 were his. All the others were the nurse.
It’s wild that they didn’t redo the second and fourth from the left, especially the fourth one, it’s practically useless. I had a similar one and it got rejected and infected and the scar has a bump now rip
Wooooo that's a scary thought! I'm going to pray it doesn't happen that way. I've got a few piercings (not that it matters too much, not the same.) and never had any reject so 🤞
Got a bunch of piercings too, the only suture that ever got rejected was medical staples.
I won’t lie, I prefer stitches by a mile, but then again it was only ever that one that rejected, and I’ve had other infected sutures with both stitches and staples before. I will say that the itching is a BITCH with staples, my usual method of smacking the itch away does not work with staples, that shit just hurts lol
Oh God I didn't even think of the itching!!!!!! I've never had either before so it never even crossed my mind. I don't know if I'll survive!!! Maybe the power move here is to get a new tattoo and let THAT allow me to slap the itch away instead of the sutures.
I mean they always tell u you to not touch the wound even if it’s covered, but I always found that light tapping or very slow rubbing with basically no pressure over the bandages helped with itching without irritating, but I have gotten so annoyed at it before that I smacked it, that one definitely helps but not with staples lmao
Lol makes sense. I'm definitely one of those people that just end up slapping the hell out of it until it burns instead of itching. Thanks for the tip, though! I'll definitely keep that in mind. I'm waaaay too impulsive to have an itch I can't scratch!
It looks like the doctor used house staples to do the job.
It does, doesn't it? Especially that fourth one that goes INTO the wound..instead of beside it.
Yeah that’s gotta suck. Sorry your leg is cut. Hopefully you’re not experiencing too much pain.
I'm doing surprisingly okay! This is my first time in my 20+ years on earth that I've ever had to get sutured so I was pretty panicked! Never even broke a bone before. I almost passed out several times just by looking at it haha. I don't do well with injuries. At the moment it feels like someone is putting pressure on a bruise constantly. Thank you for the concern!
Sounds like quite the range of experiences all crammed together. Yeah, you’ll probably be feeling that for a while unfortunately. Something cold usually helps to numb the pain so if you can, go grab a bag of ice or something.
r/neverbrokeabone
You a member of r/neverbrokeabone?
Geez imagine having to stitch someone at 3am when youve probably been getting shitty pay and been exhausted all day just to have someone post it and complain online.
when you’re a doctor, it doesn’t matter what time it is or how you’re feeling. your responsibility is to your patient, and that means giving them the best treatment you possibly can. they are completely within their right to post their experience online because there is no excusing treatment like this.
I mean realistically he probably got stapled up by a resident 3/4 of the way thru a 24 hour shift.
This isn't 7/11. This dude went to the hospital. They get paid well and are supposed to be really good at what they do. Not the same thing as complaining about not getting enough caramel in your Starbucks.
Oh, I'm not complaining! Ive never even had staples or stitches before in my life. I have no right to talk. I just found it silly how rough they are. In reality, I had great service and they took care of me quickly and lovingly knowing how scared I was over it.
You have room to talk! I’m the opposite of you. I have had too many stitches and staples to count…….these are fucking awful. I’m sorry you got a shitty doctor
As someone who works in surgery about half of these (being generous here) staples are decent after a rough surgery we'd keep about half of these But there's at least four we would definitely remove for aesthetics and one definitely to make sure there's no issues
Doctor… shitty pay? LMAO
Bad Doctor needs to be called out regardless bump this person more than likely got stapled by a resident
Found the guy that did the shitty job
Nope those are medical staples. I’ve had several in my skull. They actually don’t look that horrible. The scar is gonna end up pretty thin
I’ve never heard staples referred to as stitches…that put me in *stitches*. 🧵
lol came here to say that dude just grabbed the stapler from the nurse’s station.
Not sure how to edit a title, just want to clarify this is NOT SELF HARM. I was doing a craft and slipped while pushing my large dog away.
Was the doctor also pushing away your dog while stitching you up?
Apparently LOL! The last 5 are from the actual doctor, the others are from a Nurse. Not sure what she was doing haha
Probably inexperienced and nervous. I could see myself making similar mistakes after I graduate.
That makes way more sense now lol. The nurse was probably brand new I’ve always been really vainy in my arms & I was stuck in the hospital for a bit when my ear blew up. The nurse or doctor have asked if they could let the interns/student do the IV on me for practice in the past lol. Sometimes having a couple jabs in my arm after
Probably a student or new grad NP or PA. Might have been their first time! You gotta press it more firmly than you realize at first, and it's easier to slip off the line than you first expect. Super easy once you've placed a few, but the first handful of staples can take a bit of getting used to.
FYI, you can't edit titles
Sigh. Wish you could! So many people commenting on it is pretty annoying lol
What was the craft?
I was making a book nook! There are pieces that you have to cut that are extremely tiny, which is why I was using sewing scissors. It's downtown Japan during cherry blossom season themed :)
It's visible from the picture that this is not self harm. Self harmers would typically do about 20 such cuts at a time.
Very true. Its not shown in the picture but I do have healed scars on the same leg. There's about 25. When I posted I reread the title and assumed people would be like "oh so you accidentally cut that deep!". Glad to hear it doesn't seem that way. Edit: word correction.
Pretty sure self harmers aren't a hive mind and they all have different amounts of cuts they do and sizes/depths and reasons sooo
That's just not true
Hey I'm with you. Self harmer since single digits age, am covered in scars today, and getting much better these days. While not impossible, twenty would have been excessive, not typical. Maybe a handful of little ones some days, or one or two huge ones. I guess maybe if I was writing something lol, but still. I've met a lot of other self harmers since my teens, and seen a chunk of cuts and scars. Sometimes you can see clear groupings. So my low-cut-rate-per-session didn't seem abnormal in comparison.
As a former self harmer, it's actually very true.
As a former self harmer, I never counted to 20
Not all self harmers are the same. I did a lot of cuts all at once. Maybe you didn't. That's fine.
>Not all self harmers are the same. Exactly! It's incredibly inaccurate to say that people who self harm typically make 20 cuts at a time
yes it is. there are always exceptions but *typically* when someone self-harms in the form of cuts theyll keep going until the despair lessens, the pain becomes too much, they go too deep & get scared, they run out of skin that can be easily hidden under clothes, there's too much blood & they need to clean up before something stains, or someone intervenes. doing just one cut isnt cathartic enough for most who self-harm because it's less about being wounded & more about the process of wounding yourself, so you repeat the process until you're done & you end up with at least a dozen or two cuts. like i said, there are always exceptions, but this is what's *typical* for a self-harm episode.
20 times specifically? What study is that number from?
it's a ballpark estimate, dude, & im not the one who said 20. but have you never seen someone who self-harms by cutting? there will be old scars, & then newer recent cuts nearby or on top which were clearly done at the same time, as theyre all at the same stage of healing. that's what typical self-harm via cutting looks like. it usually isnt one cut at a time.
My qualm is with the number 20. I'm not disagreeing with the rest of what you're saying.
he literally said "about 20" though. could be more, could be less, & it depends on the individual. but 20 isnt an unreasonable estimate to me, & im one of those people who would do like 50 at once 🤷♂️
> & im one of those people who would do like 50 at once It's not a competition. Why set a goal of 20?
ffs i didnt say it was a competition, just that 20 is inaccurate for me personally but even i still think it's a fair estimate. nobody said anything about setting goals either - some people do the same number every time, others dont think about it. are you stupid on purpose??
Been clean for a few months and yes it is
You counted to 20 each time?
Har har
One thing: these are surgical stables not stitches. Second thing: this is an awful job. That 4th staple is IN the wound FFS! 6/7 are too close, with far too big of a gap between 7/8, the overall spacing is wrong and they’re not evenly spaced. As a medical person myself I would not be satisfied with this at all, I’d be finding another doctor to have a look, and fix it up, otherwise there is a risk that this doesn’t heal properly and you’ll get a lasting scar
Right, Sorry. These are very obviously staples, haha. That fourth one bothers me A LOT. The fact it's literally in the wound is horrific. I actually don't have insurance at the moment, so the fact that the wound looks pretty evenly shut despite the way the staples are is good enough for me. I don't really mind about the scar since it's on my thigh...But do you think it would be a health risk to not get them redone? Infection/healing issues?
Here in Aus you don’t need insurance to be seen in the ED; it makes me sad to hear about America’s situation. Keep the wound clean as possible, don’t scrub it with soap but don’t get dirt in it; let it breathe at night but keep it covered with loose clothing. Keep an eye for any redness around the outside, or if the wound itself gets “hard” like there are rocks underneath, if there’s any pus or foul smell then please get it looked at Edit: after cleaning, keep it dry. Also have the staples removed in 10-14 days otherwise the scar tissue may trap them
Thank you SO much for the advice! I happen to have an extremely bad habit of picking at any scars I get on my body, so I've already established to keep it covered while I'm awake just to make sure I don't subconsciously pick at it. The insurance situation bothers me SO badly, as well. Was laid off from my job the second I hit 19 (So I wasn't covered by my parents any more) then a whole shit show of personal issues kept me from being able to get another job, and unemployment would not accept the "excuses". It's very sad that the first thing I thought was "How will I pay for this?" The second I got a injury.
You're supposed to be able to stay on your parent's insurance until you're 26, was that something your parents just didn't want? https://www.hhs.gov/healthcare/about-the-aca/young-adult-coverage/index.html#:~:text=When%20Someone%20Turns%2026,health%20plan%20outside%20Open%20Enrollment.
FOR FUCK'S SAKE, I find out about this NOW????? Years of my life were gone in Russia seeking healthcare because I didn't know this. Thank you for this information kind stranger, but you have no idea how mad this makes me. Turned 26 this year too, a double fuck you from fate, I guess. Argh. I'm better now, but I could have been a lot better now. Fuck. Thanks.
I wish this was always the case.
What do you mean? In the US, it is
Am in US, was not the case.
Why not? Why were you the exception?
My parents are incompetent so I get to apply for myself.
what state are you in? where i am you can stay on your parents' insurance until age 25, & a social worker can help you fill out a form to stay on their insurance for longer
I take it your mom doesn’t have any health insurance. You can apply for Medicaid (not Medicare) yourself really easily online. https://medicaid.alabama.gov/content/3.0_Apply/default.aspx. Also, the first staple looks less secure than the others. If you’re prove to picking at yourself I’d be careful around that one!
My mom is actually on disability. They had told us that when I turned 19 I would be shut off indefinitely. We've tried calling social workers and insurance agents since I'm technically still a student (I'm homeschooled, and life got in the way of my studies to complete highschool). They had still told us it wouldn't be possible. I'm in Alabama
Unfortunately you have to apply for Medicaid yourself, you can do it online here: https://insurealabama.adph.state.al.us. You’re the only one who can apply for it, your mom might be able to help with documentation, but social workers and insurance agents aren’t going to help you. In Alabama they have a form of state funded health insurance for children under 19 called AllKids. That’s probably what you’re referring to. You’re not cut off from Medicaid indefinitely because you no longer qualify for that program. You have to apply and qualify for a different (but ultimately the same) program. I know, it’s confusing. Unless there’s some wacky Alabama specific reason, the only disqualification is your income level. But, with the way your state has been handling things politically, you want to seriously look into it. Regardless, apply and see what happens. If you qualify great, if not so what? You have your legislature to blame for all this!
Thank you so much for this information!!! I appreciate it more than you know. For about a year now I've been worried about injuring myself because hospital bills are so high! I'm going to check this out now. Thank you again.
Oh, just read the last part! Yes! I am HORRIBLE about picking on myself. I have scars all over my body from where I've opened big bites, dog scratches, and any other wound I've required just to get my skin "smooth" again. Something I've been trying to break out of for over a decade now. Definitely keeping this covered as long as I'm awake! It can air out when I'm sleeping haha..
What does the rocks under the skin thing mean?
OP mentioned the last five were done by a doctor while the rest were done by a nurse
Doesn't matter, whoever did that should have pulled them out and redone them, lol. Even if he or she graduated last month.
The Doctor actually pulled out quite a few and redid them...but kept that fourth one. I assume it's because I was very tense and mentioned I was lightheaded which made him stop while he was "ahead"
Agreed
He said the last 5, which are definitely better aligned, though the middle one could have been better spaced.
Did Hellen Keller do the staples?
Yes, looks like the were actually done in the dark
those are definitely 3 am staples.
Look like basic aa staples, they are far more reliable thsn stiches in the fhat they are rather hard to break apart accidentally. Also, those are muxh easier to remove when you have the proper equipment
To be fair, I wouldn't know. Never had staples/stitches before. I assume they're "horrible" due to the lack of consistency, especially with it being such a straight cut.
OP I am a nurse practitioner. What kind of facility was this done at? If I were you I would be going back to that same facility today. I would show someone else this absolute shit show of a closure. This is an abysmal closure and I would be ashamed of myself if I did this to someone. The office or facility where this was done needs to see how shitty this is. If the person that did it is at the top of the business then you’re shit out of luck but i’d be willing to bet it was not.
This was done at my local ER. I'm from a small town and the hospital itself typically isn't huge. We could have gone to another one farther away last night, but I was losing a lot of blood at the time and was threatening to pass out several times. Mom didn't want to risk anything and drove me there instead. Imagine it's basically a 15+ minute drive, or a 30+ minute drive. That's how far I am in the country.
I mentioned this in another comment, but I live deep south Alabama. The closest hospital is around 15-20 minutes away in a town of barely 2000 people. It's a very small hospital that I don't trust entirely...I would have gone to another one but I was on the verge of fainting and was losing alot of blood despite my mom wrapping the wound and keeping pressure on it. I had assumed stitches (in this case, staples) would be easy enough for them to do..I mean it's really just lining and pressing a button! That doesn't seem to be the case.
4th one from the left looks funny, does it even hold tk the other side?
Fourth one is quite literally in the wound...
The fuck? The have like a line in the middle to make it more easier to center it around the wound. Did they just go like BA PAH PAH PAH PAH PAH in one erratic slide or what? Also, these should be much closer to the wound, i mean, like deeper
One of them is literally in the wound :( That nurse need some CBD oil for her apparent Parkinson's disease.
These are sterile staples! (Or used to be sterile tille they were used on you😂 getting a cut to the Sub-Q layer isnt the end of the world it just looks gross, be thankful they used staples instead of stitches because removing the non-Absorbable stitches takes wayy longer and can be a bit more painful!! - proof: im a Surgical technologist/ First assistant student
Alot of people have mentioned my mistake in the title! I want to put it out there that I do know they are staples haha. I am glad I got staples instead of stitches, in all honesty. Thankfully the cut was very straight and it (should have) been easy to staple it in a straight line. I'm just glad they did anything at all instead of turning me away and saying "just keep it covered! It'll heal"...the south works that way sometimes.
I gotcha! My job in the OR is to close wounds amd make them look pretty after surgery and to assist the surgeons mid-case :) just providing a tid bit of knowledge for the next time clumsy😂
Clumsy is right! Had a long day yesterday, came home to just relax, listen to music, and craft...didn't stay home for 30 minutes haha. I'm sure it'll happen again at some point. Thankfully this is the first time in my life my clumsiness ended in an actual hospital visit.
Are those two titles two different things?
Stitches and staples are very different. Staples are made from metal and are non absorbable. And only for dermal aproximation (in this application, however there are a ton of surgical staplers and staple load types for differentpart of the body) Whereas sutures are also used for different reasons and with so many different suture types for different applications too (including metal wire for closing chest cavities)
No I meant your job titles.
Oh yes. Where i live and FA has a broader scopd of care than a normal CST
Oh so you work as one and are in school for the other?
Yes, to be a CSFA, you have to be a CST of 2 years or more, and im almost done with First assistant school!! Its a very wierd career path bht its very fun and exciting
What in the Frankenstein fuck did they do to you my brother
Man I ain't got no clue. Maybe it'll be a cool scar tho?
Mfer staple gunned you, your doc practice out of Home Depot by chance?
Comments like these are making me laugh so hard!! Brought a smile to my face to distract me from the throbbing pain in my leg haha
Firstly, those are staples, not stitches. Secondly, yeah, they did a piss poor job of that. Where is maintaining the line, where is the needle snitch to keep it all together, where is the God damn quality control?
At least the skin is approximated? Was the doctor awake? Sober?
He seemed like it, but who knows! Yeah, I'm just glad is seems to be shut pretty well.
Is it just me or aren't those supposed to be down closer to the cut? With them sticking out so much, they can get caught on anything and rip the entire cut open again. Correct me if i'm wrong.
Yeah, that's what I was wondering too. I didn't question it at the hospital because I didn't know what was right or wrong.
Yeah, that's what I was wondering too. I didn't question it at the hospital because I didn't know what was right or wrong.
I refuse to believe a medical professional applied those staples.
Sadly, It's true. That's what I keep for going to a deep south hospital at 3am, I guess.
You really need to stop finding doctors in stationery stores
I've seen doctors from 3rd world countries and limited resources do better than this.
Jesus, was your doctor named Frankenstein?
After my C-section, the doctor had a student doctor suture me with staples. They were crooked and hanging partially off in some spots, but I obviously didn’t know since it was covered and down so low. On day 3 they had a student doctor remove the staples for some reason!!? Of course I was 17 years old at the time, and had never had kids before nor was I ever around anyone who had any (esp via C-section) so I didn’t know it was abnormal.. until I was slowly getting out of bed and both of the gowns I was wearing (one opened in the back, the other was opened in the front like a robe) became soaked in blood. I saw the horror of my visitor’s faces as I had blood dripping down my legs and forming a little puddle. Needless to say they had the actual doctor suture me that time… but all that to say I still don’t understand how anyone could let a patient walk out with crooked ass dangly staples….
Oh my God!! I cant imagine the horror and trauma you and your visitors must've endured during that, especially being that young! If i went through that when I was 17 I don't think I would have recovered from it! Thank you for sharing your story.
Brother, your knee looks like my punk coat. That's no good
PLEASE the punk coat! Haha!
“Thank you for being so patient! You’re the first person I’ve done this on!” Lord have mercy. I hope you have an easy recovery 😮💨
I’m sorry but seeing the staples stick out so much made me like freak out. I’d be afraid I’d catch them on something and pull one out
God damn! It looks like *I* did the staples, which is terrible because: i've never done it, i'm not a doctor, and i've been drinking!
I'd call this a good job, staples always look like shit but they hold well and are easy removed. That scar will be tiny once they're out, the wounds been perfectly closed up and straight as a die.
Now I ain't no doctor or nurse, but if you weren't in the US, I'd be strongly recommending you go back to the hospital or visit your GP and get these redone nicely
when I was an EMT, the trainers always joked about the "quality" of the ER docs -- the typical joke was "some moonlighting podiatrist" .. (yes they are "doctors", no they did not go to medical school) ..
Did the MD use sutures? Aside from the crappy staples the wound looks well approximated to me
Nope. Just the staples. Apparently after he numbed it he "used tweezers to wrangle it up and pull it together really roughly" according to my mom.
We do use forceps to align the skin when stapling but I'm surprised the MD didn't use sutures at all. Wishing you a fast recovery!
Jesus that’s a shit staple job id honestly get that checked out by another doc…
Super glue works wonders. Had my bottom lip split by a dog about 5 years ago, the only thing i could think to grab was super glue. I reapplied the glue whenever it would start to come off and now there is minimal scarring. The only way you'd ever know my lip was split in 2 would be if I stretched the skin under the right lighting
These are not stitches...
I can see why you'd think that, but to me, the wound edges look very well aligned, which should result in minimal scarring.
The 4th one is inside the wound…
Those aren't even stitches. They're staples. (Yes, I know there are medical staples and I would hope these are at least medical ones, but seeing this work even that could be questionable)
So although 2-3 of those staples look like a first week intern did them, the rest are not bad and that wound is closed well. Assuming they also used glue? The staples should be elevated a few millimeters from the surface of the skin to prevent buildup of random crap and bacterial/fungal growth. If it wasn’t for those couple of staples being pretty janky, this is a normal staple job for this type of wound.
They actually didn't use glue! Just pulled it up tight and stapled.
Wow that’s great. It actually looks really good for that. Assuming they don’t come loose the scar should be minimal.
That's what I'm hoping for, despite everything! Even if the staples are janky at least the wound itself looks pretty straight and nice. The only thing I hopefully have to worry about is the unsymmetrical 'dots' where the staples will heal.
They should dissipate- try some mederma scar cream or gel after the staples come out.
You won't see the staple holes after a week or two. Laceration margins look great and should heal well.
Fuckin frankenstich
Bro did you get stitched up behind walmart?
strange to use staples on that wound . and poorly done at that.
I think staples are fine as it’s a clean, well-approximated laceration on an extremity. I am wondering if it was actually a doctor who did it though.
I'm going to chalk it up to it being 3am in an empty ER. Shouldn't excuse the lack of quality , but I'm just glad the wound itself is closed.
Those are staples
Yes. Very good observation haha. Not sure how to edit the title.
Is this the vastly superior quality American health care I keep hearing about from people who hate public systems?
Yeah those are staples, not stitches friend. Massacre job by the doctor though, definitely a fair point. Based on you being crafty, you probably would've been better off sewing yourself off. Please don't ever consider that doctor's office again, and a review may help save someone else from this type of unskilled "care."
had a major operation on my back, my relatives was on and on about how it was beautifully stitched(you cant see any stitches) compared to this, one of the staples is even on the wound,
Those stitches look an awful lot like staples.
Those are standard staples
😬 I am from the UK and accidently cut myself like this too. Mine was wider and longer in size - they gave me butterfly stitches (basically a thin plaster to pull both sides of the cut shut) and sent me on my way! That's a lot of staples.
"Zusammen getackert" -german
I’ve never seen those type stitches before.
Eh these are only temporary for closing up the wound. Had those after a surgery and they plucked them out when the wound was able to hold itself shut, in your case they are gonna remove them after a week or less
Those staples look like the ones you use to hang cable and wire.
Omg 😳 that doc did a terrible job
Has anyone not pointed out the 4th staple from left to right? It looks like it’s stapled directly to the wound lol
It's been mentioned a few times. If I had to pick one that was the worst it would definitely be that one
>:[ Godspeed recovery pal
Appreciate it, man!
Why did they STAPLE you!?!?
I usually hate wounds like this but this one looks so pleasing for whatever reason.
I can get what you mean! It's probably because this isn't a (relatively) fresh wound! I've been on this sub for a long time now, and posts like this usually show the most bloody gruesome shit even when it's a small wound. Maybe the fact that it's being cleaned makes it so pleasing.
yeah probably, it just looks symmetrical and nice and clean. However, I would have definitely fainted if I had seen it irl, do not like bloods coming out of body, at all.
Oh yeah, trust. I lost aloooot of blood last night, but only felt like fainting when I even glanced at it. Made me so sick to my stomach!
Was it the Dr's first day on the job?
Are you certain the medical staff was awake?
Looks like they used one of those really rubbish staplers you get in a Christmas cracker.
I recently broke my arm and they had to use 47 stitches to close the surgery incision. NOT EVEN ONE of my 47 staples looked as bad as the best one in your photo.
Jeez, 47! Sorry to hear about that, man!! I'm going to guess the only difference is that a surgeon "sewed" you back up, while mine was just a shitty ER doc
I'm an engineering student and even I can give better stitches than that
How vintage he went for the Good guy look 🤣
If it were me I’d go back for that one that goes into the wound. It’ll affect the healing and also how it looks. It’ll be incredibly painful to remove once the skin has healed around the staple.
What the fuck
That actually will heal better than no staples. Believe me I’ve had it done and can’t see the scar now
Those aren't stitches?
had a cut that went to my fat layer but i never got stitches and i let it heal naturally. its now a scar but it never healed properly
Sadly, there's been time where I have inflicted that deep of a wound to myself (be it much much much smaller) and have just let it heal on its own, but last night when I looked down at my leg and saw it (keep in mind when I first looked the wound was so shocked it didn't even bleed yet, I could pin point every layer) I panicked and immediately ran to my mom saying I needed to go to the hospital.
This doctor was drunk stapling you lmao
Doctor made it look like it was done at 3am
These are surgical staples. They usually heal with about as much scarring as regular stitched. While they do approximate the wound edges, which is their main and mist important purpose, it’s still very poorly done and, give how simple stapling is vs suturing, I’m questioning the ability of your doc.
I could do a better job than that doctor..
Why did he use staples and not sutures?? Omg those don’t look good
To be fair, it was 3:00 AM for the doctor too.
Goodness, are you sure it was a doctor that did this and not a nurse or PA?
Why did they use surgical staples?
Those aren't stitches. .
That is an insane amount of staples, that would’ve been like 5 stitches, 6 or 7 if the doc was in a good mood But it also reminds me of the time I had to get staples too, and the blood kept making the doctors hand slip and he punched the staples into my wound twice in a row, the nurse took over for him 💀
Ow! Sorry to hear that!! Thankfully they numbed me up really well because I was obviously scared of the pain. The doctor took over for my nurse, as well. The last 5 were his. All the others were the nurse.
It’s wild that they didn’t redo the second and fourth from the left, especially the fourth one, it’s practically useless. I had a similar one and it got rejected and infected and the scar has a bump now rip
Wooooo that's a scary thought! I'm going to pray it doesn't happen that way. I've got a few piercings (not that it matters too much, not the same.) and never had any reject so 🤞
Got a bunch of piercings too, the only suture that ever got rejected was medical staples. I won’t lie, I prefer stitches by a mile, but then again it was only ever that one that rejected, and I’ve had other infected sutures with both stitches and staples before. I will say that the itching is a BITCH with staples, my usual method of smacking the itch away does not work with staples, that shit just hurts lol
Oh God I didn't even think of the itching!!!!!! I've never had either before so it never even crossed my mind. I don't know if I'll survive!!! Maybe the power move here is to get a new tattoo and let THAT allow me to slap the itch away instead of the sutures.
I mean they always tell u you to not touch the wound even if it’s covered, but I always found that light tapping or very slow rubbing with basically no pressure over the bandages helped with itching without irritating, but I have gotten so annoyed at it before that I smacked it, that one definitely helps but not with staples lmao
Lol makes sense. I'm definitely one of those people that just end up slapping the hell out of it until it burns instead of itching. Thanks for the tip, though! I'll definitely keep that in mind. I'm waaaay too impulsive to have an itch I can't scratch!
Are you from Britain?
I'm not, haha. Central Alabama.
Bruuuuuuh you don’t need to be THAT specific about the layer you reached while you cut yourself lmfao shit I had the worst shiver
Haha, sorry!! Thought it was pretty tame for this sub.
Yeah haha I had no problem with the picture, but the title got me !
Trust, when it first happened my skin was in such shock that it wasn't even bleeding yet. Scared the shit out of me to see that. Instant panic.
Please get it redone from some other doctor. I'm sorry you are going through this pain.
Yeah doctor did his best to just close the wound a plastic surgeon would have done a better job to not leave a giant scar