Suturing

Inside your swag bag you will find a pencil case with a wrapping that requires parental/guardian supervision to open. If you have your parent/guardian present, or you have permission from them, you can go ahead and open the pack to see what is inside.

To practice suturing, you will need a few items from your swag bag.

1. Suture pad with preloaded suture - please practice tying your surgical knots with the preloaded suture first. IF you have parental/guardian permission you can use the suture packs to practice using the suture needle to drive the suture through the pad and then tie the surgical knot.

2. Needle Drivers

3. Forceps (thumb forceps AND tissue forceps)

4. Scissors

5. 2 Suture Packs

Please reference the image above!

Continue Practicing

To continue practicing you suturing skills you can simply cut your finished suture patterns from your suture pad and try again! To try something different, you can also get assistance or permission from a parent/guardian to make a cut/incision on a banana, orange, and/or a pool noodle to practice suturing the incision closed.

*Please DO NOT practice suturing on any animals or humans* When we suture in veterinary practice, we provide appropriate pain management so that the animal does not feel any pain associated with the needle and suture.