1 year post-op-keloids?Debbie

[Debbie]

O.K. everyone_ I don't want to scare off the newbies, but I wanted to get a pic of my scar now-1 year later and with some keloids that have developed. Look up my 1 month post-op pic (pg.2 under debbie's pic's Feb 21st08) and compare. 1 year ago nice and thin - now thick in the middle.
Does anyone else have keloids and do you want to share your pic>>
I'm sure some do, and they are worse than mine. I think others
would like to see the different scars. Please post.
Thanks Debbie
P.S. Ladies, my scar does not stop me from wearing anything that I want,
I wear many low cut shirts and a 2-piece bathing suit, so be brave!!!

 

[Ross]

That's not terrible, but should it become a bothersome thing, you might consult a plastic surgeon.

 

[ccummins]

Hi Debbie,

Thanks for posting this. I am only 6 weeks out so can't really give a good comparison. But already my scar is much less visible on top then in the middle. It is starting to get a bit keloid in the middle. I am wondering if it has anything to do with you being well-endowed? Have you been wearing supportive bras since surgery? I have been sort of flying free a bit since surgery.

BTW ... you look great!

 

[Eva]

Support bra would defintely help and I wish I forced myself to wear one, but could not tolerate anything close to my incision!! I wore shirts and a light jacket on top. My incision was a very thin line right after surgery but it changed to keloid in the middle and the very bottom which I think is due to the gravity pulling on all sides!

But the good news, the keloid is getting shorter and flatter in some parts.

 

[JaneBerm]

Debbie, You go girl! Attitude is always more important than any scare. Wear it proudly, you're here with us and able to tell your story. That's what it's really all about. Jane

 

[Debbie]

keloids

keloids

Hey again, just wanted also to tell everyone that I have tryed all the creams and vitamin E oil and I don't think they helped me. I do ALWAYS wear suncreen everyday because I'm outside alot, but I do try and avoid the sun. I have heard the darker the skin the more keloids. I have olive skin and other scars have taken time to heal also. If I wear a bathing suit I put lots of suncreen on the scar with zinc oxide. The sun makes it worse.
Anybody else want to show their keloids???
Thanks Debbie

 

[ccummins]

Hi Debbie,

I am 1-1/2 weeks into trying the silicone gel sheets. My dermatologist said to wear it for 3 months straight. I'm going to take pictures each week to see if it helps or not. I'll post them here when I'm done. I have pretty fair skin so maybe I have that going for me ... it would be the first time that I would be happy to have it!

 

[Maryka]

I get keloids--especially on my chest area. (No pictures, Ross. I live alone and do not find it easy to photgraph myself. Sorry.) My upper scar, which had the absorbable stitches still looks good. But, what we keloiders know is that over time, scars can continue to grow and grow and grow.

But, I already have keloids that grew at the bottom of my scar where I had some old-fashioned stitches. (Did I mention that somehow in the shuffle, no one removed the two stitches at the very bottom of my incision--drainage tube stitches I think they told me at my six-week check-up where the NP had to take me to a hospital room and dig out the stitches and cut, roughly teasing out the almost over-grown stitches.) Yep, I have some red keloids at the bottom of my incision.

Someday I will get some professional help for those scars, but I made an amazing discovery. A friend insisted I take her gift to me of a tube of stuff called Arnica something-or-other that you can get at holistic markets. (I hate these holistic things, by the way.) She swore it took off scars. Well, when all of my surgical wounds were healed I tried her Arica ointment (which is meant for sore joints, the label says). I rubbed it into old scars from mole removals as well as those huge red keloids at the bottom of my OHS incision. I can say that my red, mountainous keloids are slowly flatteneing out and that my old scars are actually fading away. How it works, I cannot say, but since I never put it on open wounds or injest it, I feel it is probably safe.

However, I bet the stuff that plastic surgeons prescribe probably works more quickly.

 

[Lisa in Katy]

Mine was more bumpy a year out than it was in the beginning. It was also more bumpy then than now. The scar from my wire removal was the worst, but it is almost gone now. It will probably go down with time, but if it gets larger, like Ross said, plastic surgeons can usually fix them.

 

[halleyg]

I can testify that keloids have nothing to do with being well-endowed or pulling My scar developed keloid in the middle as well, my dermatologist injected it with cortisone and it worked like a dream - no more keloid.

 

[Debbie]

Wow , Halley I did'nt know you could do that at the dematologist office.
It really worked?? How well?? How many times did you go??

Cherly, I never tryed the strips, do you need to use them right out of surgery, when the scar is "fresh"?? I think you do?

I still want to see some of the other's keloids

Thanks Debbie

 

[Marguerite53]

Debbie, I LOVE your attitude. Honestly! It is so true. We need to be proud and go about our lives and fashions in a normal way. My daughter is 21 and she chides me every time I feel self-conscious about my scar. She's so proud of me for going through the surgery. If a daughter has no trouble seeing it... why would I??

My scar started out so nice! It honestly looked like it was going to do that disappearing act. But then it got all raised and bumpy at about 8 months post-op. I tried the cortisone injection at about 10 months out and all it did was fill the scar up with blood (blackish) which kind of horrified me..... that did go away. But the shot was so painful, I really did not want the few more that were suggested. I tried silicone patches (too itchy), cortisone tape (too itchy), vitamin E, acupuncture, specially concocted oils by my acupuncturist, mederma, blue light treatments, red light treatments..... finally I just gave it up! The acupuncture was certainly, for me, the best treatment -- but too spendy. I've kind of not even looked too much at it through the winter, but my husband really thinks it has gotten better. I'll have to take a new photo of it. Here it is at almost 2 years out, before the acupuncture treatment. It is only 4.5 inches long. As you can see, the lowest part, buried deep in the cleavage has that nice white line (of course, where no one can see it!). I actually have some Arnica gel and I'm going to try some on it, Maryka, thanks! Then, soon, perhaps I'll go back for some more acupuncture.

The Tawdry shirts didn't start going around until long after I'd had my surgery 3 years ago, so no disco pose from me! I will take a photo, now, at 3 years when I get a free chance and post it here for comparison. Debbie, can you put your first photo into this thread? Easier than bouncing around. Thanks.

Marguerite

 

[Dina]

I can testify that keloids have nothing to do with being well-endowed or pulling My scar developed keloid in the middle as well, my dermatologist injected it with cortisone and it worked like a dream - no more keloid.

I wonder if cotisone cream is effective..just curious since I happen to have
some,I guess you would have to use it for a few months to see a change...?

Debby- I have a little thickening but mine is the top 2 inches,while the
bottom 3 is almost invisible..so the thikened area is more visible.

 

[Debbie]

Thank you Marguerite for posting your pic!!!!
Your scar is thicker than mine, but mine is longer
I wonder what makes one person keloid and another not???
Anybody have any ideas???
We haven't heard for the guys yet
I guess they don't care about their scars??
Debbie

 

[halleyg]

No, the guys don't care! My dad had OHS (bypass) and his whole scar was keloid, but never cared... my brother had MV repair and he doesn't seem to care either. After I had my scar "fixed" he said, oh, maybe I should do that, but never did. But, for me personally, I don't love my scar. I don't care if the top part of it shows, but before my surgery I always favored v-necks, and I just don't feel as comfortable in them now, at least not the deep v's. I know it's really petty in the grand scheme of things. I am fine in a bathing suit, though, b/c I love the sun/water too much.

Debbie, I only had to have the injections done one time.. she injected it in 3 or 4 different places. When I went in and told her I had another OHS in the same year as the first, she felt so bad she didn't even charge me! I went back a few times for laser treatments to reduce the redness, which worked well for me, too.

About cortisone cream, I actually used prescription cortisone strips right after my OHS. My sister-in-law is a surgeon and recommended them. However, they did nothing for me but made me itchy!

 

[seth]

Thank you Marguerite for posting your pic!!!!
Your scar is thicker than mine, but mine is longer
I wonder what makes one person keloid and another not???
Anybody have any ideas???
We haven't heard for the guys yet
I guess they don't care about their scars??
Debbie

Nice pics Debbie and Marquerite. I find that after seeing other people's scars I don't think they look so bad, until I look in the mirror at my own. Anyway, do your keloids ever itch? and what do you do for it? Like you Debbie I developed them in the lower half of the incision and as time goes by they seem to itch more.

 

[JeffM]

Keloid or hypertrophic scarring?

Keloid or hypertrophic scarring?

I think what we typically call keloiding may actually, technically, be hypertrophic scarring. Where the former forms thick red scar tissue that expands beyond the scar's original edges, the latter does not.

In any case, I have the tendency to form the thick, itchy scar tissue (whatever you want to call it) and some of my OHS incision has developed in this way. I have had cortisone injected into the problem area twice. Each time, the tissue shrank after about a week, which was very encouraging, but now it has thickened again and also itches and burns. I'll probably try one more injection and if that doesn't work, I may consult with a plastic surgeon at some point. However, I have read that scars can sometimes flatten out on their own with time. I'll probably wait to see if this occurs.

I know that the injections often work and, in fact, worked on my big knee surgery scar. The itching and burning sensation is the most bothersome for me.

 

[ccummins]

As far as the silicone strips go, from what I have read, you can use them any time. They are not just meant for right after surgery. I'm going to give them a shot. If they don't work, I will go with Halley's advice on the laser treatment. I do think it really great that this post is out here. I know that my impression was that the scar only gets better and less noticeable. Obviously this is true in many cases, but good to know what could happen and some possible treatments. Thanks all!!

 

[dtread]

Thank you Marguerite for posting your pic!!!!
Your scar is thicker than mine, but mine is longer
I wonder what makes one person keloid and another not???
Anybody have any ideas???
We haven't heard for the guys yet
I guess they don't care about their scars??
Debbie

I am sorry to hear you all are having such scar issues. But remember that it is a badge of honor, earned at a tremendous cost. My OHS scar is a very thin line and has remained that way; no keloids. It has faded over time and is barely noticeable now. You practically have to get the microscope out to see it. My pacemaker scar is all stretched out and itches sometimes; that scar is noticeable. I just put some lotion on it and that does the trick. Interesting that acupuncture was tried (by Marguerite) and found to work well.

 

[WayneGM]

I've given up caring about the scar. I'm sticking with the knife fight story . Quite the conversation piece