Lacerations come in a variety of sizes, shapes and types, but the most frequently asked question is "does it need stitches?"  For the most part, wounds will heal without stitches at all.  Stitches do however, improve the cosmetic appearance of the scar.  If a laceration is generally clean and the edges seem to be holding together relatively well, you can typically forego stitches.  However, if the wound seems to be gaping, has contents spilling out from within, or is in a location where scarring would best be minimized, stitches would be advised.

Skin adhesives, although great in theory, rarely are as effective as sutures.  When a wound is under any type of tension, for instance an area of the face where smiling pulls the tissue, glue will be less effective.  The circumstances in which it is advantageous are in a child that would be thrashing about if you come at them with a needle.

Absorbable suture, when placed through the skin and tied off outside of the skin surface increased the risk of a wound becoming infected.  Thus, physicians should not place absorbable suture through the skin.

Typically, if a wound is older than 6 hours on the extremities or 12 hours on the face, the risk of infection goes up considerably making suture more risky.  Each cut is unique, though and a physician might be more likely to stitch an older clean wound than a newer dirty wound.

If your wound is clean, you have a ten year period between shots.  Dirty wounds require a booster every seven years.  The shot must be administered within 3 days of the injury.  Children are typically covered if they have had all of their immunizations up until they are 20.

Yes.  There is a product called LET (lidocaine, epinephrine, and tetracaine) that when applied to a wound in paste form will numb the wound within 30 minutes.  This product provides sufficient anesthesia to allow cleaning and treating a wound in most cases.