Skin Lesion Removal

If the wound is covered with “steri strips”

If you have steri strips on your wound please do not disturb these. They are intended to last until your follow-up office visit. Keep the steri strips covered when you bathe or shower. If the steri strips do fall off, you can follow the instructions below

If the wound is not covered with “steri strips”

Items needed:

Your prescribed antibiotic ointment
Cotton-tipped applicator (q-tip)
Soap and water
Twice daily, use a cotton-tipped applicator to gently remove any dry blood or crusting that may have gathered between or on stitches. Then apply the antibiotic ointment over the wound.
After 48hrs the skin edges are waterproof and you can gently sponge the wound when bathing and pad it dry. Re-apply the antibiotic ointment afterwards.
Please ensure you attend your follow-up appointment on the correct day to have your stitches removed. Your pathology report will be discussed with you at that time as well.

If you have a skin graft

Your skin graft will be covered with a gauze dressing. This needs to stay in place until your first post-operative visit.
For the donor site, twice daily, use a cotton-tipped applicator to gently remove any dry blood or crusting that may have gathered between or on stitches. Then apply the antibiotic ointment over the wound.

What to expect

Minor bleeding is normal, especially with movement. If bleeding occurs, place gentle pressure over the wound for 15 minutes. In almost all instances this will stop the bleeding. If not, please contact our office.
Minor swelling is also to be expected. The larger the lesion that was removed, the more swelling of the surrounding tissues that will occur. This will gradually settle down. Swelling associated with pain, redness, a fever or sweats may be a sign of infection. If this occurs, please contact our office.

What to avoid

Avoid excessive movement of the wound for 3 weeks. This includes heavy lifting and strenuous activity such as jogging or swimming. This can cause the wound to break open or the scar to widen.
If you have steri-strips, avoid getting these wet as they will generally then start to fall off.
If you have any questions please contact us on 02 9982 3439 or [email protected].

You can download a .pdf version of this information for printing here – Skin lesions post-op care