Just ran my fingertip behind my ear. The stitches are gone! According to Science How Stuff Works: Dissolvable stitches are made from natural materials, such as processed collagen (animal intestines), silk and hair, as well as some synthetic materials that the body can break down. This allows the body to dissolve the stitches over time. Usually, by the time the stitches are dissolved, the wound is completely healed. For me, that means back in the swimming pool I think. But I'll wait for my doctor to comfirm on Wednesday.
Stitches used to be made of Cat Gut. When I told this to House Cat George, he said “Me? - OWWWWW!” I think he understood. Although catgut sutures may actually be some of the oldest forms of sutures used in wound closures, there are still many applications that favor the use of this material. Catgut has changed in several ways since the earliest use which may date back as far as the early second century AD. It was an early medical practitioner named Aelius Galenus that is credited with the first use of catgut in suturing wounds and, as a personal physician to emperors, the practice quickly became well known.
There
are also other uses for cat gut because it is so strong, and George
is not so happy about this one either. Here's an original limerick by
Helen Meikle, a versifer in Australia:There once was a pussy named Dennis
Whose hubris was truly a menace,
Till his unseemly pride
Blew a gasket inside
And they salvaged his gut to play tennis.
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