How long a layoff after dermatology surgery?

[Dbmark401]

On August 11 I had a pre-cancerous mole removed from my mid-back. The procedure required that the wound be stitched-up in two layers, and has resulted in a two-inch diagonal scar. The top layer of stitches comes out in two weeks; the inner layer of stitches will dissolve.
The man who performed the procedure (a physician’s assistant, not an M.D., but he seemed to know what he was doing) strongly advised me not to do any “heavy lifting” for three weeks. He was clear that he believed that strongly engaging the back musculature might result in pulling out the stitches. (He thought chin-ups might be okay, but possibly because he is not actually clear about what muscles are engaged in performing a chin-up.) The wound-care instructions, on the other hand, mention nothing about lifting, but advise generally against “increased activity” that increases blood flow at the wound cite, and specifically advises against activities that stretch the skin in the area of the wound.
I am 65. I find that I gain strength slowly and lose it quickly, so I am not at all happy about a three-week layoff in which I am relegated to cardio, curls and Bulgarian split-squats. On the other hand I don’t really want to be the idiot who pulls out his stitches and complicates his recovery unnecessarily. My question is this: should I suck it up and follow the advice I have been given, or is that advice obviously overly cautious?

[Will Morris]

On August 11 I had a pre-cancerous mole removed from my mid-back. The procedure required that the wound be stitched-up in two layers, and has resulted in a two-inch diagonal scar. The top layer of stitches comes out in two weeks; the inner layer of stitches will dissolve.
The man who performed the procedure (a physician’s assistant, not an M.D., but he seemed to know what he was doing) strongly advised me not to do any “heavy lifting” for three weeks. He was clear that he believed that strongly engaging the back musculature might result in pulling out the stitches. (He thought chin-ups might be okay, but possibly because he is not actually clear about what muscles are engaged in performing a chin-up.) The wound-care instructions, on the other hand, mention nothing about lifting, but advise generally against “increased activity” that increases blood flow at the wound cite, and specifically advises against activities that stretch the skin in the area of the wound.
I am 65. I find that I gain strength slowly and lose it quickly, so I am not at all happy about a three-week layoff in which I am relegated to cardio, curls and Bulgarian split-squats. On the other hand I don’t really want to be the idiot who pulls out his stitches and complicates his recovery unnecessarily. My question is this: should I suck it up and follow the advice I have been given, or is that advice obviously overly cautious?

I wouldn't recommend it to anyone else, but I trained the day after having a fairly large lesion excision on the back of my neck. I'm not quite 65, but in the grand scheme of things, a three week layoff isn't that bad. What would be bad is having the wound open up in the middle of a set. The infection control risk, as well as the fact that wounds that open up like that have a tendency to not heal as well would push me towards listening to your provider.