Kare Plastic Surgery & Skin Health Center · Santa Monica & Los Angeles
Emergency Stitches for Kids in Los Angeles
Pediatric Laceration Repair · Dr. Raffy Karamanoukian · Experts in scars · (310) 998-5533
📍 804 7th Street, Santa Monica
📞 (310) 998-5533 — Same-Day Pediatric Appointments
⏳ Bypass the ER — No Long Waits
🏠 Child-Friendly Environment
If your child just had an injury and needs stitches, our office provides Same-Day, After-Hours expertise in pediatric lacerations in Los Angeles.
At Kare Plastic Surgery & Skin Health Center at 804 7th Street in Santa Monica, dual board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Raffy Karamanoukian, MD, FACS provides same-day emergency pediatric laceration repair, and expert stitches for children in a calm, child-friendly environment, without the hours-long wait and sterile hospital atmosphere. His specialized training in minimizing long-term scarring means your child’s wound is repaired to mitigate longterm scarring.
Does Your Child Need Stitches? Signs to Act On Now
Call (310) 998-5533 Now
Cut deeper than ¼ inch. Wound edges gap open and won’t stay closed. Bleeding doesn’t slow after 10 minutes of firm pressure. Yellow fatty tissue visible in wound. Any facial, forehead, lip border, or eyebrow laceration.
Facial Cuts — Always See a Plastic Surgeon
A face cut that heals with a poorly placed scar is visible every day for the rest of your child’s life. Facial lacerations deserve the layered closure, precise tissue alignment, and scar-minimizing technique that only a plastic surgeon provides. Never leave a child’s facial laceration to an ER generalist when a specialist is available.
Minor — Clean at Home, Monitor
If you have already had stitiches or glue dermabond in the ER or Urgent Care and need a second opinion by a plastic surgeon, or a place to follow up for stitch removal; call our office.
< 30min typical repair time for most pediatric lacerations at Kare
2–4 hraverage ER wait time for non-life-threatening lacerations in Los Angeles
<24 hrsGolden window for optimal laceration closure after injury
1 yrTimeline for full scar maturation
Plastic Surgeon vs. ER for Your Child’s Stitches
Kare Plastic Surgery vs. The Emergency Room
🏥 Hospital Emergency Room
- 1–4 hour wait with sick and critically ill patients
- ER physicians trained in rapid closure, not scar minimization
- Single-layer closure standard in high-volume ER settings
- Unfamiliar, high-stimulation environment frightening to children
- Facility fees add thousands to the bill
- No follow-up scar management protocol provided
✓ Kare Plastic Surgery — Santa Monica
- Same-day appointments, minimal wait, quiet environment
- Dual board-certified plastic surgeon specializing in scar outcomes
- Layered anatomical closure for optimal cosmetic healing
- Calm, child-friendly setting; topical anesthesia before any injection
- Transparent Pricing; Out of Pocket Costs
- Post-repair scar management protocol starts at follow-up visit
Dr. Karamanoukian’s Approach to Pediatric Laceration Repair
Child-Friendly First
Every aspect of Dr. Karamanoukian’s pediatric laceration protocol is designed to minimize a child’s fear and discomfort. Topical anesthetic cream is applied to the wound before any needle is introduced. The repair proceeds at a child’s pace, with parents present throughout. The goal is that the child leaves feeling brave — not traumatized.
Scar-Minimizing Technique
Dr. Karamanoukian specializes in wound closures designed to minimize long-term scarring in children — using layered deep sutures to eliminate tension at the skin surface, precise epidermal alignment to eliminate step-off deformity, and absorbable sutures in appropriate locations so children avoid the trauma of stitch removal.
UCLA-SOM Expertise
As a graduate of the UCLA School of Medicine and dual board-certified plastic and reconstructive surgeon with two decades of experience, Dr. Karamanoukian brings academic surgical training to every wound closure — the same tissue handling and anatomical precision applied to complex reconstructive cases applied to your child’s laceration.
Pediatrician Coordination
Dr. Karamanoukian works closely with affiliated pediatricians throughout Los Angeles and the Santa Monica area. If your child’s pediatrician refers you to Kare Plastic Surgery for laceration management, a complete procedure report is provided to the referring physician. Parents whose pediatrician is unavailable can also call Kare directly for guidance.
No ER Required
Unless your child’s injury is directly life-threatening — major blood loss, loss of consciousness, or deep structure injury — pediatric lacerations do not require an emergency room. Dr. Karamanoukian’s Santa Monica office provides the level of wound care that most laceration injuries actually need, without the ER environment or expense.
Post-Repair Scar Care
Healing begins at closure but the scar matures over 12 months. Dr. Karamanoukian initiates his post-repair scar management protocol at the follow-up visit — silicone gel, sun protection, and massage instruction — to ensure that the excellent closure he achieves at repair is preserved through the full healing timeline.
Serving Santa Monica Families: Montana Avenue Practice, Brentwood & Pacific Palisades
Kare Plastic Surgery is located at 804 7th Street in Santa Monica near Montana Avenue — minutes from the parks, schools, and playgrounds where Santa Monica children get the cuts and lacerations that bring their parents to us. We serve families from Santa Monica (90402, 90403, 90404), Brentwood, Pacific Palisades, Malibu, Beverly Hills, and all of the Westside. Call (310) 998-5533 the moment your child is injured, our team will advise you immediately on whether to come in and how to care for the wound while you travel to the office.
Related Resources at Kare Plastic Surgery
Kare Plastic Surgery & Skin Health Center · Near Montana Avenue, Santa Monica
24/7 After Hours
Dr. Raffy Karamanoukian, a graduate of the UCLA School of Medicine and dual board-certified plastic surgeon, provides same-day emergency pediatric laceration repair in Santa Monicaa. Expert stitches for children with scar-minimizing technique, in a child-friendly environment, without the ER wait.