In a sutured surgical wound, the process of epithelialization is completed within:

Healing by first intention Healing of a clean , uninfected surgical incision approximated by surgical sutures Narrow incisional space immediately fills with clotted blood containing fibrin & blood cells ; dehydration of the surface clot forms the well known scab that covers the wound Within 24hrs , Neutrophils appear at the margin of the incision , moving toward fibrin clot. In 24-48 hrs , spurs of the epithelial cells move from the wound edges along the cut margins of the dermis , depositing basement membrane components as they move. By day 3, the neutrophils have been largely replaced by macrophages . Granulation tissue progressively invade the incision space.