Hi Betty-
Joe had an incision in his chest just like yours. I teased him because it was quite swollen and looked like he had gotten a "lift" that he didn't need, LOL. It was the closest thing to a breast that he ever had. All gone now! Everything is back to normal. I don't think Joe's incisions were as long as yours, however. I would say, the breast one was about 5-6 inches, and the groin was about the same, and the rest were maybe like drain type openings. It's been a while, but I don't remember anything 10 inches long. Each surgery is different, though.
He had some back spasms and other pains in the area. But basically, it was much easier on him than another sternum would have been. That bone healing is nasty. Tissue healing takes a lot less time. Plus he had had 2 sternum surgeries already.
We have a friend of the family. a woman, who had this procedure a little over a year ago. She thought it was wonderful, no visible scars and she's back to playing tennis. Same surgeon as Joe had, Dr. DePan.
Joe's scars hardly show at all, but then it would be hard to tell which ones were from that surgery. He's covered with them.
You do sound wonderful, Betty. Overall, your healing time will be quite a bit shorter than a normal sternum. There's still some pain, but what surgery doesn't have that.
