The doctor put 4 black nylon stitches in a 1cm cut on my baby girls brow.

That seems to me to be FAR too many stitches for what I assume would have been done with a butterfly in were it USA. Is Japanese medical practice archaic (brutal) or am I overreacting???

I asked the doctor (Fuji-something) and he said they used a finer stitch but I dont think a stitch was necessary at all! Esp. not 4 !!!! Dont stitches cause more/a larger scar that a butterfly would?

Furthermore isnt it better to use the kind of stitches that disappear naturally to avoid scarring?! If anyone knows please share with me? Because I am about to overreact to a lawyer! If your in the Azabu area dont take your kid to the Hiroo Hospital.

note from Admin: Black nylon is used because it is very easy to see when making the stitches and also later when the stitches are to be removed. Nylon stitches have been around for a while, and remain popular because they are non-allergenic and work very well. Dissolving stitches are generally used for internal stitches that later can no longer be accessed from the exterior. The dissolving material sometimes produces and allergic reaction in some people. I know of a case where episiotomy stitches done with cat gut caused a reaction. Furthermore it was not the cat gut itself but the solution in which the cat gut had been stored caused the reaction.

Seems like your energy is better spent on getting a plastic surgeon to look at it quickly, rather than chasing a lawyer. That route is not too productive here, I believe. Your concern sounds very reasonable, but it's not realistic to ask for a medical opinion here.

Everyone has great things to say about the National Children's Hospital. Maybe try there?

For what it's worth, Hiroo Hospital is one of the few Level 3 centers - something like what in the U.S. are called Trauma Center, I think. I'm not defending at all, just giving some context.

If you find a source of care that you are happier with, let us know.

Westsan,

In reply to a different post under cosmetic surgery, I pasted two links that might assist you in locating a plastic surgeon in Japan. Whether to stitch a wound or apply steri strips to hold a wound together while it heals is usually up to the doctor, as is what type of suture material to use, how long to leave the sutures in and whether they should be kept dry (and in some cases covered). Of course it looks much worse when the wound is first stitched. Some doctors believe that after the sutures are removed you should keep the area covered with a steri strip or tape to keep out sunlight and supposedly promote healing. A plastic surgeon would be in a position to advise you on this. For what it's worth, I know a number of children here who had facial wounds stitched with almost no scarring. I wish your baby girl a speedy recovery.

Dear Westsan, why not research it on the internet? I think there is at least as much information about stitches as there is about circumcision. I had always heard that more but smaller stitches is better than less stitches. It takes the doctor longer but the end result will be better. This seems to apply also when repairing tears in clothing. Also the age of the person and their skin type influences the decision. A child might be at an age where it peels off a butterfly bandage (sort of like a dog that can not help itself but scratch, even when it only makes things worse). Anyway, you won't really know what the result is until the healing has finished. It seems to me to be a bit early to start thinking about legal action.

Jenny, Thanks for the smart alec comment (from an unrelated thread).

Besides that I thank you all for the somewhat comforting advice. I still have not been able to ascertain whether or not steri-strips (butterflies strips) are more more standard in the US -- due to lower probability of scarring.

Apparently, the admin feels that this post was over the edge and decided to edit its title. I guess the admin doesnt see much value in a comparison of medical practices between the US and Japan.

Feel free to delete the whole thread. Nobody needs to know that their child might be subjected to outdated medical practices at Hiro hospital.

For the record, I (the Admin) do indeed feel these discussions are a good place for constructive comparisons. Please try to protect the existence of this privilege of discussion by avoiding placing unsubstantiated hearsay into a subject line, since the subject lines may be construed as reflecting attitudes or opinions of myself as the site owner in any potential legal battle. Any opinions should be mentioned only within the post itself and not in the subject line.

Mr. Westsan's original subject heading was "Health Topics: Hospitals/Clinics: Stitches: Hiroo Hospital to be warned about - I think"
with no clear reference as to who was doing the thinking in "I think". I felt uncomfortable with that and changed the topic heading to a neutral one that still pertained to the original subject. I had a choice of "Stitches", "Hiroo Hospital" and "Warnings" and decided on "Hiroo Hospital". I sincerely hope the notes I added to the bottom of Mr. Westsan's post above were part of the "somewhat comforting" ones, since they did take some time and effort to research and type up.