Staple left in wound?

[KhloRN2be]

I shadowed a wound care nurse today and witnessed something odd. A pt had a tumor taken out of her leg and had one end of the long incision scar open for wet-to-dry packing. The nurse had me look inside as she was changing the dressings and I noticed what looked to be a staple inside. She pulled it out and it looked like half of it had been embedded in the new healing tissue. She then tossed it and said it wasn't a big deal. But is it really? What if we never saw it? Would it have stayed in and might there be more? I can't really think of a reason why it would have been left in there.

[Davey Do]

KhloRN2be:

In many cases, staples and sutures are overlooked upon removal. Although the quanity should be noted at the time of placement, oversights do occur.

The body attempts to purge the foreign object through tissue and scar growth, or sometimes someting like keloid cysts are formed. Sometimes the foreign objects are encapsulated or they're merely carried along for the life of the Entity.

Reporting and documentation is always a good fail-safe. You know: objective observation, intervention, result, or what have you. Make the MD aware, etc.

Next time a question like this pops up, maybe you need to question those involved to give you the straight dope. Like the Wound Care Nurse, your Instructor, etc.

Dave

[canesdukegirl, BSN, RN]

In the OR, sometimes we use small staples inside of wounds to stop a bleeding vessel. They are called hemoclamps, and some are plastic and some are small metal staples. I would have called the doc instead of pulling it out.

[nerdtonurse?, BSN, RN]

I've seen orphaned staples, especially on a person who had a major trauma or was just a horribly complex surgical case. I've had pt's tell me they had staples under the skin (and you could feel them clearly). Never saw one cause a problem. Of course, saying that, I will probably walk in on a horrible staple induced mess on my next shift...

[MouseMichelle]

I've never heard or seen that, but I would've called the doc to report it...

Michelle

[guest83140]

She needs to write a note to the doctor or better yet call him and let him do the research.