what is a sub-q knot? when will it go away?NURSES HELP?

Answer 1

sub, as in under
q as in cutaneous

in short, a deep stitch. If the suture material is absorbable, then it should absorb over time. It would be unlikely that a doctor would use a permenant stitch placed "sub-cu", though I have seen it.

the knots take the longest to absorb, for obvious reasons, and because skin seems to tolerate suture material when it is not "broken down" by the act of tying knots. When knots are tied, some of the suture material breaks off, and can cause a small inflamatory nodule.