Why don't dissolving stitches dissolve?

Answer 1

Stitches that normally dissolve sometimes do not completely dissolve because:

1) You haven't waited long enough (common)

2) the doctor used the wrong kind of thread (very unlikely)

3) part of the tissue has grown over part of the stitch (common)

4) your body has not acted on the stitch material as expected (common)

Answer 2

Sometimes, part of the circle the suture makes dissolves first. When this happens, the body will often express the remaining suture matierial before it dissolves.

Answer 3

They are coated with a type of fatty acid which when it becomes wet, causes it to dissolve. Since the tissues are moist, the fatty acid makes the suture dissolve.