Docs, nurses: question about suturing small lacerations in children?

by admin
Filed under: lacerations 

I’m an MA at an Urgent care center and we have small children come in with 2 inch lacerations that aren’t bleeding and are not deep. The doctors always suture them. I can’t see putting a child through that if you can just steri strip or glue the incision? I don’t want to question the doctors I work with. Thanks.

Quite often the decision can be based on where the cut is. Will the child/person bend/use the injured area and cause the cut to spread open and therefore potentially leave a bigger scar.

Sometimes docs do unnecessary things just to please the patients. Look how often they write Rx’s for antibiotics for viral infections because the patient “wants” some pills. What we perceive as a shallow and small cut they perceive as “to the bone.”

You should talk to your docs, it’s not questioning their authority… it’s trying to learn what, why, when.

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5 Comments on Docs, nurses: question about suturing small lacerations in children?

  1. daniel_200723 on Wed, 26th Nov 2008 8:29 pm

    2. it would be good to ask him y he does that over what u think. Either way one of u learn somthing and remember just b/c he is a Dr doesnt mean he is always right
    References :

  2. Megan on Wed, 26th Nov 2008 9:01 pm

    3. I am not a doctor or a nurse but I am a mom. When my daughter was young she cut her palm and 2 fingers with a pair of scissors, she was bleeding a lot. When I took her to the ER the doctor did not do stitches but used the steri strips and wrapped her two fingers together. This worked just fine and healed quite nicely.
    References :

  3. Alice RN on Wed, 26th Nov 2008 9:18 pm

    4. Quite often the decision can be based on where the cut is. Will the child/person bend/use the injured area and cause the cut to spread open and therefore potentially leave a bigger scar.

    Sometimes docs do unnecessary things just to please the patients. Look how often they write Rx’s for antibiotics for viral infections because the patient “wants” some pills. What we perceive as a shallow and small cut they perceive as “to the bone.”

    You should talk to your docs, it’s not questioning their authority… it’s trying to learn what, why, when.
    References :

  4. smilesbigalways on Wed, 26th Nov 2008 10:00 pm

    5. One of the reasons they might not use steri strips or glue is because those both can come of easily if picked at or submerged in water for long periods of time and at that age it is really hard to tell them no don’t pick at that or sorry honey you can’t take a bath. sutures you really shouldn’t get wet either but the can at lest be submerged in water for a while.
    References :
    Nurse

  5. GreenShaman on Wed, 26th Nov 2008 10:16 pm

    6. I’m sure if they don’t have insurance they will barely get a band aid. Yes it has more to do with insurance than anything if the docs know they are going to get paid then of course give them stitches so they will have to come back for a second visit even.
    References :
    Imma Da sour’ce

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