Nowadays, surgery relies on many different working methods – so it is logical to use different aids with various surgical interventions. Speaking of surgical methods and means used, we must mention surgical clips as one of the means for closing the incision after surgical intervention. However, many people are wondering how long surgical clips last?
What Are Surgical Clips And What Do We Use Them For?
Surgical clips are one of the methods of closing the incision and joining the cut tissue after the surgical intervention. Their goal is to close the wound well and connect the tissue where the incision was made – so that the tissue can heal better. However, surgical clips are not used in just every surgical procedure – but mainly in those that require larger surgical incisions.
Such wounds are usually too large for conservative stitching methods. In addition, this method reduces the time that the patient and the doctor spend in the operating room, which reduces the risks of some of the possible complications – and may be less painful for the patient. The most common situations where doctors are using surgical clips are hip surgery that requires a larger incision – or in women who give birth by cesarean section. During such procedures, the wound from the incision is expected to heal faster.
How Long The Clips Remain In Your Body?
Since this is a stitching method that doesn’t involve resorbable materials – many patients wonder how long it will take to take them off? There is no universal answer to this question because it all depends on the patient and the type of surgery performed. However, some unwritten rule is that surgical clips usually last from a few days to up to 3 weeks. That depends on several factors, some of which are very individual for each patient.
Namely, when determining the lasting of surgical clips, we must keep in mind the type of surgical procedure, the complexity of the surgical incision – as well as the size and the direction in which the incision was made. Also, their lasting depends on the place where the operation was performed – because not all parts of the body heal so fast.
What Are Surgical Clips Made Of?
Although most surgical clips are not resorbable, we must emphasize that some of them are. It all depends on the material they are made of. They are mostly made of materials such as titanium or plastic. However, there are also those clips that are made of polyglycolide. That is a material that can be resorbed in our body – so it is often used in plastic surgery because it leaves a less visible scar, which is significant for such interventions.
Is There A Risk When Placing Surgical Clips?
We cannot say that surgical clips carry some special risks that we should emphasize. However, as with all other things in medicine and especially in surgery – there are certain risks. The biggest risk is actually from insufficiently well applied surgical clips that can cause poor wound healing or opening of the wound after surgery. In such cases, we have a suitable ground for the development of infections, some of which can lead to more serious complications. However, this is the thing that depends mostly on the surgeon himself – and we do not expect it to happen. One of the risks may be an allergic reaction to the materials from which the surgical clips are made – but this is rarely the case.