Contact your provider right away if a wound has come open, or if the stitches or staples have come out too soon.
“Right away” matters here. Most changes around a wound don’t call for that level of urgency.
There are also two things not to do. If you have stitches or staples that don’t dissolve, your surgeon will remove them. Don’t pull at your stitches or try to remove them on your own. And don’t put antibiotic cream or other products on the wound unless your surgeon tells you to. A closure that is partly undone is not an invitation to tidy up the rest of it.
This article doesn’t give a home procedure for a wound that has come open, such as taping the edges together, closing it again, or what to put on it in the meantime. What should happen next depends on how far it has separated and what is underneath. That’s what “right away” is for.
It helps to know what often happens next, because it can be unexpected. When an incision breaks open, your surgeon may decide not to close it again with stitches. The wound then heals from the inside out, with a dressing that keeps the skin from closing before the wound underneath fills in. Being told it will be left open is a plan, not a refusal to treat it.
Early separation matters. Superficial dehiscence is when the wound edges start to separate, with more bleeding or drainage at the site. Catching it early is important for preventing worse dehiscence, infection and other complications. A closure that looks like it is starting to give is worth the same call.