have been reading several post and all state the donor area was sewed up. my doc used MANY staples to close me up. anyone know the pro's and con's of staples vs stitches?

I believe it is because they can close up a wider strip easier with staples. I'm sure the experts will chime in soon!

Interesting question. I would think staples hold the closure better if you have a long donor strip, on the minus side you'll feel them more, they are more painful to take out, they'll leave a larger footprint potentially transsecting more of the native hairs in close proximity to the donor area.
Because I only needed a relatively small number of FU both times, my donor area was also relatively small so it was never an issue and I got nylon sutures. I do not believe either of my surgeons were into staple closures though.

My Doc did Sutures (stitches). He is a Plastic Surgon and very concerned about reduced scaring. He said it is rare for a Plastic Surgon to use staples.

They are not nearly as placesable as a hook needle and thread. However, staples require less presision and are faster to install.

My scalp was stiched closed from the inside to close it. Then from the outside to draw it togeter in a fashion to meet his goals.

The inside stiches are left in and designed to desolve over time. My outside sutures came out on day 14.

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justme,

there will be varying answers depending on which doctor you ask. Many doctors swear by staples because they produce a tighter seal...less possibility for stretching of the donor scar, however I've seen doctors use stitches and produce the same results. That being said, I know I'm not giving you a lot of information on this topic because it's debated and there are varying opinions. BUT, this is why it's even more important to choose a good doctor (regardless of their closure technique) that produces consistent thin scars and excellent yield.

Falc

Good thread...........it would be nice for a Doc (or maybe B spot) to chime in with scientific particulars.. .

I've had both methods......stitches for HT#1 and staples for HT#2. IMO, I believe the staples held better than the stitches and produced a finer scar, 'course this could just be due to my 2nd Doc having superior skills as compared to the 1st.

The only thing i noticed with staples was that I was really ready for them to come out when the time came..............no pain really, just an annoyance when sleeping on them. I didn't experience ANY pain when pulling them out (wife did it) but I know some have experienced otherwise.

Here are the pros & cons:

Staples-More annoying during recovery period, more painful to have taken out, better uniformity across the closure,better closure overall.

Sutures-Less annoying during recovery period, less painful for removal, higher chance of wider scar due to inconsistent tension across the closure, chance of "train track" scarring even if the primary scar is ok.

That's it off the top of my head. Keep in mind that Dr. H. studied 70 patients with staples and 70 with sutures only and while the results were acceptable from either closure the staples were consistently better. I don't think anyone here can look at a donor scar from staples and tell it was with staples whereas one can tell if a suture was used on some cases.

Had both (staples with Dr H and stitches with Dr E), and concur with most of Joe's post. Dr E's probably one the most experienced and highly regarded plastic surgeon of the coalition and uses stitches. I asked him why at the time, he said it made more sense to him to use them for this particular procedure. The point is, if you're in the hands of a top surgeon, I don't believe you'll see any difference in the result, as your scar will simply be invisible, whatever the method.