Incision Shield?

[watson524]

Hi all,

Has anyone heard of this or used it? It's a plastic "X" type shape that is on a string around your neck that helps keep clothing and stuff off a fresh incision? Trying to plan ahead of things we might need after mom's surgery.

thanks in advance!

 

[ottagal]

Did see it posted on Adam's blog a while ago, but never looked into purchasing one. I had a bandage covering the incision for while. I also used the handy little heart pillow to use when I coughed or laughed (and God forbid, sneezed).
Personally, I am not sure if I would have used it post op.
It will be interesting to find out if any members have used this and if they found it helpful.

 

[Cris N]

I looked at it a while back and decided that it's a huge waste of money. My incision was super sensitive and I wound of using Vaseline & Kleenex to provide a shield from my clothing. I also found that close-fitting tank tops (high cut) really helped too.

 

[watson524]

Good to know. Thanks for the info!

Do they give you the pillows at the hospital? We'll be at Cleveland Clinic. We actually have 2 heart looking pillows, silky outside, little foam "pellets" inside (so formable) that I was going to bring just in case and also to put between mom's sternum and the seatbelt for the ride home and trips to doctors and such.

I've actually been testing something I read (possibly on here) to stop sneezing... you press right under your nose there and hold it until the feeling passes. It actually works so long as you do it as soon as you feel the sneezing itch come in. Looks silly but I can't imagine sneezing after having your sternum opened up so I told mom about it.

 

[Jkm7]

Mass General did not give me a 'heart' pillow either of my OHS but my nurses made me an appropriate rolled towel thing that worked fine for me. If you are going to use a pillow from home, you may wish to run it through the washing machine to be sure it is dust free and freshly clean. She will want one that is rather firm, not all squishy that would provide little support which is the point of it. I smiled when you said you have two pillows that look lilke hearts. Of course, all that matters is the amount of comfortable support they provide, not color or shape.

I used a pillow between me and the seat belt for about 3 weeks my second surgery but did not find it comfortable doing that my first surgery. (Same surgeon/same hospital, four years apart and my surgeries were quite different in how I felt and recovered from each.) Some doctors/hospitals advise patients to sit in back seat post op to avoid possible air bag deployment. Neither my doctor nor hospital told me to do that so I sat in the front most of the time. My second surgery, I was barely three weeks when my cardio let me drive for very short, close to home quick rides. First time, he didn't think I was ready until about 8 weeks.

No two ways about it..... sneezing hurts after ones sternum has been cracked open.

 

[watson524]

Thanks for the additional info. Looks like I better starting looking for a different pillow just in case. So many of these things you don't know unless you ask and I've been scouring the internet trying to gather as much medical and "comfort" info as I can. I mentioned to my mom a few weeks ago about the back seat for the trip home (Cleveland to Northeast PA) and I got a resounding "NO". This is going to be interesting and I might end up in the looney bin by the end of it. My mom is very active and getting her to rest and sit still is like... well, difficult. Hopefully her body will give her CLEAR signals on when to cool her jets

 

[Lynlw]

CCF gives patients heart pillows, but IF you want extra to keep around the house or to keep in the car, I really recomend buying a small throw type pillow (or even sewing if you have a machine) NEW pillows to have close to your incision right after surgery.. and not pillows you have around the house..just to be safe. Also from our experience, the stretchy pillows with the little foam beads didn't work as well as the fleece filled ones since the little beads tend to squish around and there isn't much cushion on the spots you are holding to your chest.. (Justin made 100s of pillows for kids having heart surgery as his Eagle Scout project so spent alot of time trying different things. and sizes .ended up using hypo allergenic polyfil and fleece)
We looked at those incisions shield before and Justin has alot of experience recovering from having his chest open and thought they looked like they would just be annoying and not very useful.

Just so you know every hospital is different, Justin's last few OHS he only had a bandage coverring his incisions a day or 2 post op, some leave them on longer some short time, so if they leave the bandage on longer don't think that means anything is wrong ect.
One thing we did buy for the car that he liked was one of those fleece, (well sheepskin I think it is) covers that look like tubes that go on the seat belt shoulder strap

 

[Jkm7]

I am a reasonably strong, active person much of the time and could not believe the utter exhaustion following OHS. Her body will dictate how active she will be and if she doesn't listen and rest when she should, there's a price to pay. We all discover for ourselves just what rest/activity balance is best for us. I remember waking from a nap in the hospital, knew I was awake and literally lay there deciding if it was worth the effort it would take to open my eyes. Just the thought of opening my eyes was more energy than I wanted to expend. I went back to sleep. (I was not near to 72 years old and still am not.)

I personally found walking, walking, walking was the very best thing to do as soon as I was able. The first few walks are very short and exhausting, but each day I saw improvement. Mass General sent me home with a schedule exactly how much walking they wanted done each day and how many times a day. I followed it faithfully and it was just the thing to do. Funny how they really do know best.

 

[watson524]

Lyn - thanks for the tip on the seat belt cover thing! I'll definitely look into that.

Since it'll be winter time and walking outside in Northeast PA isn't super feasible (though once she's more back on her feet, trips to the mall might be a good walking place with plenty of benches to sit and rest in) but she has a treadmill in the house. As long as she's supervised I'm assuming it'd be ok to use the treadmill lightly to get some exercise in? I also have identified a local cardiac rehab place at one of the hospitals that her local cardiologist agrees is good and he said it's usually 3x / week for some amount of weeks.

 

[Lynlw]

Lyn - thanks for the tip on the seat belt cover thing! I'll definitely look into that.

Since it'll be winter time and walking outside in Northeast PA isn't super feasible (though once she's more back on her feet, trips to the mall might be a good walking place with plenty of benches to sit and rest in) but she has a treadmill in the house. As long as she's supervised I'm assuming it'd be ok to use the treadmill lightly to get some exercise in? I also have identified a local cardiac rehab place at one of the hospitals that her local cardiologist agrees is good and he said it's usually 3x / week for some amount of weeks.

These are the ones we got, you could probably get them other places, but we also got him slippers he could just slide his feet in and also wear outside from them too so it was easy. (and I MIGHT have got me something also to bring it up to the level for free gifts lol http://sheepskinshoes.com/store/SheepSkin-Accessories/Lamo-Seat-Belt-Cover-Assorted-Color-19598.html

 

[watson524]

thanks for the link!

 

[Greg a]

You may find this helpfil as a guide to a patient coming home ane suggested preperations
http://www.valvereplacement.org/forums/showthread.php?19034-Getting-Comfortable-Around-the-House&p=218802

 

[bigsidster]

I forgot my pillow at the hospital so to keep the clothing and sheets off my incision ,I used 4 plunger darts from my granddaughters dart gun,stuck to my belly and draped the sheet over them.

 

[Greg a]

Because I have no sternum I have been looking for something that will give my ribs a bit of stability and afford my organs some protection ....today I ordered http://www.mcdavidusa.com/store/item.asp?DEPARTMENT_ID=728&ITEM_ID=178 they have a selection of ladies products that would offer protection and support while the sternum heals http://www.mcdavidusa.com/store/index.asp?DEPARTMENT_ID=717 Lynn does justin wear anything like this ?

 

[watson524]

Plunger darts?? Sorry, I know it's not funny and you do what you have to do but then mental picture of that made me chuckle.

 

[watson524]

You may find this helpfil as a guide to a patient coming home ane suggested preperations
http://www.valvereplacement.org/forums/showthread.php?19034-Getting-Comfortable-Around-the-House&p=218802

Awesome, thanks Greg!

 

[Greg a]

here is a vid on the technology

 

[watson524]

I would have liked a shirt like that when I was playing softball back in the day. Took a line drive to just above my gut... shocked it didn't crack the lower ribs but darn I was sucking wind for a while.

 

[Lynlw]

Because I have no sternum I have been looking for something that will give my ribs a bit of stability and afford my organs some protection ....today I ordered http://www.mcdavidusa.com/store/item.asp?DEPARTMENT_ID=728&ITEM_ID=178 they have a selection of ladies products that would offer protection and support while the sternum heals http://www.mcdavidusa.com/store/index.asp?DEPARTMENT_ID=717 Lynn does justin wear anything like this ?

Not because of post op, but he always since he starts Tball at age 4 (already had 2 heart surgerries) wore some type of heartgard when he played sports, either a seperate guard under his shirt or one built into the shirts depending on what sport.
I can't imagine that would be very easy to get in and out of right after surgery, when many people even have trouble putting on loose Tshirts, let alone something you need to tug and wiggle into. They are VERY snug, like if you ever wore any of the underarmour compressions clothes, so the padding stays in place. Plus they are kind of expensive.

Justin NEVER complained about things botherring his incisions, not clothes or sheets ect, The only thing that his did want something to help was the shoulder seat belts, which for most of his surgeries we just kept a pillow in between the straps and his incisions

 

[Lynlw]

I forgot my pillow at the hospital so to keep the clothing and sheets off my incision ,I used 4 plunger darts from my granddaughters dart gun,stuck to my belly and draped the sheet over them.

I'm surprised the darts didn't bother you more than the sheets and clothes could have.