OBJECTIVES: Burn patients undergoing skin graft fixation utilize additional healthcare resources with removal of staples (RoS). The objective of this study was to report time and resources utilized during RoS. METHODS: Data were extracted from a phase three multi-center clinical trial assessing efficacy and safety of a fibrin sealant (FS) compared to staples. Subjects had burn wounds measuring <40% of total body surface area (TBSA) and study wound sites measured 1-4% of TBSA. Health resource assessment included number of staples, number of visits to remove staples, time to remove staples, number of healthcare personnel removing staples, and additional pain medication. RESULTS: A total of 127 patients were included in this analysis. Of those, 66% were male and 69% were white. The median age was 29 years (range 1-62 years). The median number of staples used for skin grafting was 30 (range 7-88). One visit was required (Range 1-2), utilizing 10 minutes (Range 1-365) to remove staples. A median of 2 health care professionals were involved (range 1-9). A total of 59% of patients received additional sedation/pain medication during staple removal. The mean number of medications administered was 1.4 (range 1-3), and the most common choices were midazolam+fentanyl, morphine, or ketamine. CONCLUSIONS: Removal of staples requires additional medical resources that can be quantified in terms of costs. Comprehensive cost-benefit analyses are needed to compare total cost of care by method of graft fixation.