Preparing the Area Around the Wound
The doctor first cleans the area around the wound or incision along the line of the staples with betadine or chloroprep. Although the wound is closed and healing, removing the staples, particularly if one or more has become embedded, creates a very small, new, open wound, representing a possible site for an infection.
Inspecting the Wound Site
The doctor then determines whether the staples look dry and that there's no suppuration around them. If steri-strips have been used in conjunction with the staples, the steri-strips may be left in place as the staples are removed to determine if the healing process at a specific location is far enough along to remove the staples.
Removing the Staples
Finally, the doctor takes the staple remover from the single-use staple remover kit, puts it in the center of the staple and pushes the sides of the staple remover together, just like using an office-type staple remover. This causes the edges of the staple to bend up and pull out.
