Is there any rule of thumb on how long/deep a wound would be to require stitches versus simply treating with bandaging?
Generally speaking, if the laceration is deep enough to have gone through all the layers of the skin exposing the fat tissue or muscle, it will require stitches, also known as sutures. Another consideration is whether or not the wound stays together by itself as opposed to gaping wide open. Gaping wounds should be sutured because they will never close by healing the edges together. Instead, these gaping wounds will heal from the bottom up, filling in the gap slowly by a process called “secondary intention”, taking weeks as compared to a wound closed with stitches which heals in a matter of days. We feel that this slow process can add to the risk of infection since the wound is open for so long. Additionally, we want to take into consideration the location of the wound. For cosmetic reasons, facial wounds look better after healing if they are properly closed. Wounds that heal by secondary intention tend to have much larger, wider scars. Some locations of wounds, like on the knee or elbo
