Following your surgery, you will be provided with wound care and follow-up instructions. There are some overarching principles in wound care, but your care plan will be tailored to your specific circumstances.

Generally, sutures are removed from the face 5–7 days after surgery, and skin staples are removed from the scalp at around 2 weeks.

This timing can be influenced by factors including:

• level of tension in a wound
• location of the wound
• your work or hobbies
• logistical factors, including where you live or if you’re going on holidays.

You might be required to keep the dressing completely dry until suture removal or to apply antibiotic ointment to the wound twice daily for 5–7 days.

You will be required to present to a dressing clinic (or your GP Nurse if you live outside the Sydney region) for suture/staple removal.

For skin grafts, you will generally be required to take oral antibiotic for 5–10 days, and to present to a dressing clinic (or your GP Nurse if you live outside the Sydney region) at around 7–10 days following surgery for a skin graft check.

Until the skin graft is completely taken, you will need to continue to dress it and avoid getting it wet.

Split-thickness skin grafts generally require 5–10 days to fully take. The graft donor site (usually on the thigh) will have a dressing that requires soaking off in the shower or bath at around Day 12–14.

Full-thickness skin grafts generally require 10–14 days to fully take. The skin graft donor site (usually on the face in front of the ear, neck, arm or groin) is typically closed with dissolvable sutures and covered with a waterproof dressing that is left in place for 7–10 days, or managed with twice-daily application of antibiotic ointment for 7 days.

For the best cosmetic outcome following suture removal, you may be required to:

• apply silicone gel/sheet to the wound for up to 4 months
• massage the wound gently twice daily with an emollient.

You will be required to avoid sun exposure to the wound for 6–8 weeks after surgery, to prevent dark pigmentation.

For wounds on the head/neck, you may be required to sleep on 2 pillows and/or avoid bending forward to avoid increasing pressure in the head and neck region that could worsen swelling or risk bleeding. For example, this could mean avoiding pilates or yoga for 2–6 weeks, depending on the complexity of your surgery.

For wounds on a high-tension site (like the shoulder or knee), you may be required to avoid heavy activities for 6–12 weeks to reduce the risk of stretching or bursting the wound.