A short video on how to remove a suture

Zë Au Sol -

This short video depicts the removal of a suture with a Swiss army knife, a Leatherman MUT, and some hand disinfectant.

  1. Sterilise everything. Your hands, the tools, the suture and surrounding area.
  2. Cut the suture with the scissors from your SAK: these provide an opposing force, unlike a knife, which will require your skin to provide the opposing force (you will (probably|likely) spring a leak).
  3. Using the Leatherman’s pliers, smoothly pull the suture out of the skin.
  4. Take a bow. Maybe do a little more sterilising. Dress the wound to allow it to scab over.

It goes without saying that if you to this yourself, and mess it up in any way, you are probably stupid and shouldn’t have done it in the first place. If you aren’t stupid and just unlucky, you have probably been unlucky for life and should have learnt by now, which suggests my original conclusion and this bit of advice: stop trying to be a surgeon.