Yeah, I've been on solid food (if you can call hospital food "food" for almost a week now!
As for "stitches", I have a line of metal surgical staples from 10 cm below my sternum to below my waist - it'll make an interesting scar some day. I have a 20-30 cm wide elastic band around my waist to keep tension off of the staples. I also have a "bulb" (a little bigger than a chicken egg) hanging out of the wound that keeps suction on the wound for drainage. When it quits draining, the doctor will remove it and decide when to remove the staples.