Stitch Removal / Medical Care in the USA (Specifically: $$$)

Spaffy

Hi H&A, nice place you got here. Hopefully you can help me out.

I live in the UK. In two days time, I fly to LA to visit my brother. The complication is that three days ago I took an accidental swan dive into a brick wall and now have three or four stitches in place above my left eyebrow.

Thanks to our healthcare system, I had the stitches put-in and painkillers supplied at no cost. Tomorrow I visit my local doctor to take a look at the stitches, and I fully expect her to tell me that I'll need to wait a few more days to have them removed as the wound still looks pretty grisly / awesome. By which time I'll be visiting my brother in the USA..

My question is: How much can I expect this to cost me, and is there any way to keep the cost down? So for example, by the time I arrive in Cali, I will already know when the stitches need to come out, so can I circumvent the 'consultation' part of the process and just arrange to walk straight in and have these puppies removed? Is healthcare expensive over there? Google tells me that one guy paid over $200 to have some stitches taken out of his hand, which seems... like a lot, considering it's a 20 minute job at most.

Would appreciate any advice / personal anecdotes that can help guide me. And would appreciate this not becoming a USA healthcare debate and remain a 'Help Spaffy spend as little money as possible in order to repair his face' thread.

Many thanks.

mts

how long are you planning on being in the States?

unless you are staying for like a month, there is a good chance they will need to stay in for a week or so at least.

Enc

Did they not use dissolving stitches?

Problem will be lack of insurance, and there is no clear medical cost chart for that sort of thing here in the US. It's all usually a negotiation between the insurance company and the doctor, with the patient paying the amount pre-agreed with the insurance provider. Going in without insurance will likely cost you a bit, and you'll need to find a hospital or doctor willing to remove them (which can be tricky too, without insurance and as a non-citizen).

Usagi

Maybe ask your doc if he can replace the stitches with glue or butterfly closures? Both of those fall off after a week-ish and no trip for removal is needed.

Spaffy

mts wrote:

how long are you planning on being in the States?

unless you are staying for like a month, there is a good chance they will need to stay in for a week or so at least.

I'll be there for 3 weeks - and by the time I arrive the stitches will already have been in for a week.

LoveIsUnity

Spaffy wrote:

mts wrote:

how long are you planning on being in the States?

unless you are staying for like a month, there is a good chance they will need to stay in for a week or so at least.

I'll be there for 3 weeks - and by the time I arrive the stitches will already have been in for a week.

Where in LA are you going to be? I live in the city and have been without insurance for a while, so I may be able to find a solution that will work for you. It's a bit easier for me because I am a resident of Los Angeles county, but I can check up on a few clinics in the area.

wonderpug

Would anyone recommend he use a free clinic? I don't know much about them, but it sounds like it might be appropriate for his situation.

You may also consider calling the British Embassy in Los Angeles to see what they recommend for the area.

Namrok

I don't know the type of stitches you had, or how bad the cut was. But I once had 6 stitches in my big toe after slicing it open. A week later I just took a pair of nail clippers, cut the stitches and gently pulled them out. Never thought twice about it. Then again, this is your face, so maybe that's not the best idea?

Edit: Phew, well I'm glad I'm not the only one.

wonderpug

Don't do that. You won't be the best person to judge if it's fully healed, and you risk an infection or a reopening of the wound if you screw it up.

mts

well there is nothing to stop you from pulling stitches yourself if you know when the doctor wants them out. i would mention the trip to the doctor, depending on the healing process she could pull them early and do steristrips or something to that effect.

Enc

That's pretty terrible advice, Namrock. If you aren't a doctor, you shouldn't be making those decisions.

Call your embassy. Minute clinics and other non-emergency, non-family practices services aren't usually cheap, and "free" clinics rarely really are. There is probably some system your government has in place for traveling citizens, call and see how to get it set up for you.

puffycow

I had 7 just above my eye. Luckily my work provides nurses so they removed it for me but the hospital doctor said there is no issue removing them myself or having someone do it for me. It isn't difficult but you can ask your doctor about all this, too.

Janson

Look into travel medical insurance? It doesn't usually cost too much and should cover any eventualities. You should have travel insurance anyway, just in case.

ArbitraryDescriptor

Ask your doctor if they can stay in until you get home (probably, but I'm not sure about that one), or if you can remove them yourself while you're away.

The latter is pretty simple if we're just talking about a cut, it's just thread and skin.

A friend, alcohol (rubbing alcohol), scissors, tweezers, magnifying glass, done. That's all your doctor (or nurse) is going to do, they're just going to have the expertise to know if they're coming out too early, and it sounds like you'll already know the answer to that.

But like I said, ask while you're there.

Figgy

I will repeat the advice that you should tell the doctor your situation when you go for your checkup. Ask him if it's possible to remove the stitches now and replace them with butterfly strips.

I don't know if dissolving stitches is the answer. I've only ever heard of them being used in the mouth or other areas where they'd quickly dissolve anyway.

Good luck, and you probably already know this by now but don't take them out yourself unless the doctor tells you it's okay.

Serpent

Errr...

If you're travelling somewhere for 3 weeks, you should probably be buying travel medical insurance. Not sure if that would cover removing the stitches but it's worth looking into.

Esh

Figgy wrote:

Good luck, and you probably already know this by now but don't take them out yourself unless the doctor tells you it's okay.

This is definitely worth asking. Both times I've had stitches, I've been told by my doctor that it was ok to take them out myself with nail clippers. These cases were specific to me though, so your mileage may vary.

Spaffy

Namrok wrote:

I don't know the type of stitches you had, or how bad the cut was. But I once had 6 stitches in my big toe after slicing it open. A week later I just took a pair of nail clippers, cut the stitches and gently pulled them out. Never thought twice about it. Then again, this is your face, so maybe that's not the best idea?

Edit: Phew, well I'm glad I'm not the only one.

Yeah I don't that's a good idea - the stitches are too tight for me to get in and under them to pull them out.

I'll explore the travel insurance option, but I'm not sure it would cover procedures related to an incident that happened in the UK - but it might.

Thanks for all the advice guys.

DrAllecon

Facial sutures usually need to stay in for about 10 days, depending on the location of the cut and the severity of the injury. An urgent care center will usually be able to remove them without needing full consultations first, but if you can, ask your doctor to give you a copy of your last visit (when the sutures were placed). It will make it a little easier for any other doctor you need to see to have that information. An urgent care center is usually much less expensive than an emergency room visit (and more appropriate for just removing stitches). The travel insurance is an option, but make sure suture removal is covered, and weigh the price of the insurance itself on how much suture removal would cost. It would cover you in the event of you getting sick while visiting so it may still be worth it.

mts

Spaffy wrote:

Namrok wrote:

I don't know the type of stitches you had, or how bad the cut was. But I once had 6 stitches in my big toe after slicing it open. A week later I just took a pair of nail clippers, cut the stitches and gently pulled them out. Never thought twice about it. Then again, this is your face, so maybe that's not the best idea?

Edit: Phew, well I'm glad I'm not the only one.

Yeah I don't that's a good idea - the stitches are too tight for me to get in and under them to pull them out.

I'll explore the travel insurance option, but I'm not sure it would cover procedures related to an incident that happened in the UK - but it might.

Thanks for all the advice guys.

still talk to your doctor. imo its probably best to get them out earlier than leave in for longer. see if she can swap em for steri strips

Dropping Loads

As the wound heals, there should be more room between the stitches and your skin. No one is saying you should remove the stitches without a doctor's consultation, only that having the doctor be the one that holds the clippers is probably not necessary. Maybe you can send a picture to your doctor back in in the UK while you are in the states, and then they can give you the go-ahead when it's appropriate to remove them yourself.

EggyToast

Echoing the advice -- tell the situation to your UK doctor. Point out your concern that "I am going to be in the states, and you know how their health care system is a pain. Do I have to deal with it for taking these out in a week or two?"

I'm sure your doc will have dealt with something similar.

Siska

If you payed for the trip using a credit or debit card it is possible you already have travelers insurance. If so you still need to check and make sure it would cover a planned medical issue like this though.