Steri-Strips still on?

I was told not to remove the Steri-Strips but to allow them to fall off on their own. I must have scratched one off in the night so decided to pull the rest off today as they were all partially hanging off anyway. It's been 10 days since surgery and now that the strips are off I'm feeling some tenderness. The wounds are dry and closed just kinda sore. How long did everyone still have these strips stuck on them?

I was given a bunch of spare dressings to put on whenever I showered. I think I was told to keep using them on one or two incisions for about week, and then I could stop using them if the incisions weren't sore and my clothes didn't irritate them.

I suspect that aftercare for the incisions depends a lot on how the incisions were closed, and of course whether your surgery was open or laparoscopic. My surgeon used what is basically superglue, so the incisions healed very quickly. (Did you know that superglue was originally developed to allow medics to close battle wounds in the field?)

If the wounds are dry and don't look red or irritated, they're probably fine. (It's normal for them to look purple if you had laparoscopic surgery.) I'd go to pharmacy and ask for something to put on them to protect the wounds from being rubbed by your clothing, and to make you feel a bit more protected. There's a waterproof type (one brand is called tegaderm)that's sort of like thick saran wrap with adhesive around the edges; it doesn't stick to wounds. That's what I was given, and it's very convenient.

If you're concerned, do give your surgeon a call.

I had laparoscopic so 5 small incisions. A couple are red and tender but they're all dry. My clothes don't rub on them thank goodness as I'm wearing loose clothing.

Wow that sounds crazy about the Superglue. I did not know that!

I had a couple of mine come off prior to the two-week mark, so I called my doctor to see if it was OK. He said it was fine! As long as things are not oozing, bright red, hot to the touch, or smelling funky (all signs of infection).

I remember the incisions being sore for sure, especially the big incision by my bellybutton. The surgon said that was normal, since there were surgical tools going in there and poking around. The bellybutton incision is where they pull the stomach out, so it gets stretched a bit more than the others, so normal for it to be a bit more sore. He suggested using a heating pad on the sore sports and that helped a lot.

My body LOVES adhesive, so the strips probably stayed on me for at least two weeks.

What you're feeling seems totally normal, though.