Suture RemovalComparing 1 Week Versus 2 Week Cutaneous Suture Removal

Our goal is to compare the difference in surgical outcomes and patient satisfaction for surgical scars on the face between suture removal at 1 week versus 2 weeks.

There is variation in the timing at which Mohs surgeons remove sutures on the face. Some prefer 1 week, and others prefer 2 weeks. This has not been formally studied. It is possible the outcomes are the same between both groups, or that one has a better cosmetic outcome than the other.

Your skin cancer will be removed as usual. After this, your wound will be sutured in the usual fashion, except the top sutures will be divided into two separate halves. You will return at 1 week for one half of the top sutures to be removed, and at 2 weeks for the other half to be removed. Which half is removed first will be determined at random at your 1 week visit. At two months, you will return for standardized photographs which will be used by physicians to rate the cosmetic outcomes of the wound halves based on a standardized scale. Most likely, there will be no difference between the wound halves at 2 months and the study is complete. There is a small chance that there will be a cosmetic difference seen at 2 months, in which case you will return at 1 year for repeat standardized photographs and ratings. All data and photographs will be kept secure and any identifying information will be destroyed at the end of the study.