After surgery question

Question
My rat just went through surgery and had a tumor removed. She now has a large collar around her head to keep her from gnawing off the stitches.

I've got 2 questions:
1 - Is there a safe alternative to the collar?
2 - What sort of things should I do to care for her while I wait to have the stitches removed (10 - 14 days from  now)?

Answer
I've fortunately never had this experience so I can't say anything from experience, but I have heard its just better to leave the collar on as rats tend to chew the stitches out.
As for living arrangements, I would say to keep her in a fairly small cage with newspaper for litter. You'll have to replace it every couple of days to keep it clean, but at least it won't be irritating the surgery site.