Urgent care centers can generally manage cuts requiring closure (sutures or stitches). These facilities function as a middle ground in the healthcare system, offering services for conditions that require prompt attention but are not life-threatening. Urgent care centers are equipped with the necessary sterile tools and supplies to handle minor to moderate injuries. This allows patients to receive timely wound care without the expense and long wait times of a hospital emergency room (ER).
Types of Wounds Suitable for Urgent Care
Urgent care centers are the appropriate destination for treating clean, minor to moderate lacerations that are not actively bleeding. A cut is a good candidate for urgent care if it is longer than a half-inch or deeper than a quarter-inch, or if the edges gape open and cannot be easily held together. These facilities are best suited for wounds that only penetrate the skin and superficial tissue layers, without exposing underlying complex structures.
Lacerations should be closed quickly, ideally within a few hours of the injury, to minimize infection risk and reduce scarring. The medical team will first thoroughly clean the wound to remove debris and then assess the depth and severity of the cut. If the laceration is stable, relatively short, and does not involve functional impairment, it can be safely managed and closed in the urgent care setting.
When to Choose the Emergency Room Instead
While urgent care handles many cuts, certain characteristics indicate the wound is too complex or severe for their scope of practice, mandating an immediate trip to the ER.
The ER is necessary if the wound involves heavy, uncontrollable bleeding that does not stop after 10 minutes of firm, direct pressure. Similarly, if the wound is so deep that bone, muscle, tendons, or fatty tissue are visible, specialized surgical repair is required beyond urgent care capabilities.
A trip to the ER is also necessary if the injury has caused numbness, tingling, or an inability to move the affected body part, suggesting potential nerve or tendon damage. Wounds located in cosmetically sensitive or anatomically complex areas, such as the face, eyelids, lips, or genitals, should be evaluated by an emergency physician or specialist.
Additionally, the ER is the safer choice for wounds that carry a high infection risk or require specialized removal techniques, including:
- Injuries caused by human or animal bites.
- Deep puncture wounds from dirty objects.
- Wounds with foreign objects deeply embedded, such as glass or metal.
Methods of Wound Closure Used at Urgent Care
Once a wound is deemed appropriate, the medical provider begins the closure process by first administering a local anesthetic, such as lidocaine, to numb the surrounding area. The choice of closure technique depends on the wound’s location, size, and the tension across the edges.
Traditional sutures, or stitches, are the standard method, providing strong, precise closure for deeper cuts or those under higher tension. For long, linear lacerations, particularly on the scalp or extremities, surgical staples may be used for quick and secure closure.
Medical adhesive, or skin glue, is often applied to small, superficial cuts with straight edges and minimal tension. This offers a quick, painless solution, useful particularly for children. In some cases, a layered approach is used for deeper wounds, where absorbable sutures are placed beneath the skin surface to relieve tension before the skin is closed with a visible method.
Aftercare and Follow-up Instructions
Proper care after the procedure is necessary to prevent infection and encourage optimal healing. Patients are instructed to keep the wound completely clean and dry for the first 24 to 48 hours to allow the closure to set. After this initial period, the wound should be gently cleaned daily with mild soap and water, avoiding scrubbing or soaking, such as in a bathtub.
Patients must closely monitor the wound for signs of infection, including:
- Increasing redness.
- Swelling or warmth.
- Pain.
- The presence of pus or discharge.
Avoiding physical activities that could strain or pull the wound edges is also advised to prevent the stitches from breaking open. The timeline for removal varies depending on the location of the wound. Stitches on the face may need removal as early as five days, while those over joints or the back may require up to 14 days. Patients should return to the urgent care facility or a primary care provider for removal, as attempting to remove the material at home can compromise the integrity of the healed wound.