Scar 8 months out

[kerri73]

Hi everyone! Question for those of you who have the lovely zipper... I'm 8 months out from my surgery and the top part of my scar is still pretty red, where the bottom of it is flesh colored. No itching or anything it's just the color that I find weird. Even my pacemaker scar healed nicely and is no longer red.

Any ideas? I admit I wasn't very good at covering it up from the sun, but being that it's March I can't imagine it getting much sun over the past 8 months except for last fall! (I never was good about paying much attention to that with previous surgeries/scars).

Anyway I'm just curious.. I doubt it's anything to worry about, but it's perplexing at a minimum.

Thanks!
Kerri

 

[Bina]

The top of my scar stayed very red and fragile for at least 2 years. No joke.
Now it is still a bit darker than the rest, but it's fine.

 

[jax]

I am 9 months out kerri and my scar is still a nice shade of red. My pacemaker scar has healed nicely like yours and is white except where my bra strap is up against it all day but it still doesn't look bad. I'm also waiting for mine to lighten in color and I know it hasn't gotten any sun because I was in the shade most of the time and if I was in the sun it was completely covered.

 

[Philip B]

Scar

Scar

My scar was really noticable for about the first year following surgery. I remember spending spring break back in 2008 with friends in Arizona. My scar drew a lot of questions from people at one of the community rec center pools. It has lightened-up considerably over the past couple of years. Now, the top end of it tends to reappear when summer arrives and I get the suntan thing going. The scar stays light while the surrounding skin tans.

Some of the folks here have used scar reducing medication stuff with some success. I bought a tube of some kind of medication that was supposed to reduce scarring, but never got around to using it.

-Philip

 

[drivetopless]

I don't have a scar yet but am in the fact finding stage as it is coming soon. I asked my dermatologist what can be done to minimize/reduce scar noticability post surgery:
1. Stay out of the sun. Use sunscreen all year round.
2. Laser treatments available to eliminate redness/keloiding
3. Medical tatooing available to "color" the white scar to match your skin tone.
4. Those scar patches work well to flatten the scar during healing.

 

[kerri73]

Thanks guys! I don't mind the scar being visible at all, just wanted to make sure that the redness was normal - guess it's just weird that half of it is red, the rest is normal. I've lived all but 9 months of my life with this scar so I like to call it my battle wound... reminds me of what I've gone through - I don't know if I'd feel right having it not visible either.

Thanks again!!
Kerri

 

[Philip B]

Scar 2

Scar 2

Wear it with pride!

-Philip

 

[NealR]

I am almost 5 months out of surgery, and scar still quite noticable. Mine was glued. Top part pretty good, bottom part a little bit to go. I visited with my Dermatologist two weeks ago and recommended a product called MADERMA. I have been using this 3 to 4x/day, and does appear to be helping.

The instructions advise to continue this for the nest 6 weeks.

Hope this helps.

 

[Jeanie]

Kerri, I am so glad to 'meet' you here, waving hello because I am also in Omaha. I had my surgery done at UNMC. My sternal incision line is dark pink rather than red, not sure why. I have one tiny spot with a scab that has not yet dropped off, but when I have scar tissue for sure filled in, I plan to use something I read about, called Mederma. I am not sure which stores in Omaha have it, but I am going to guess the larger HyVees or Bakers stores. If I find it before you report back on if you've been able to find it, i will post that here, and would love it if you do likewise. Happy healing, and maybe we could get together sometime!

Oops, just re-read and I did see your mention of sun exposure, so I am guessing that was a factor, if you were taking Amiodarone? I just remembered reading that it can cause sun sensitivity.
5/6/10, Edited to add, I have been using the Mederma for a few weeks now, and the scar is becoming a progressively lighter shade of pink.

 

[AgilityDog]

Wal Mart carries Mederma.

It took about 12-18 months for the red to fade for me. After 2-3 years it faded to a flat white line (with bumps from the wires and bone underneath 'cause I'm thin). Now it's just extra "cleavage" <pun fully intended>

Do keep the scar out of the sun for the first 12 months, and wear sunscreen.

 

[Jeanie]

Thanks for that tip on Mederma, AgilityDog, am sure that will likely be the best-priced place for it.

 

[kerri73]

Hi Jeanie! I'm so excited to see someone else from Omaha on here! I'm glad to hear your surgery went well! I haven't heard of your surgeon, but I go through Children's since my heart issues were congenital... my surgeon was Dr Kim Duncan and I loved him! (surgery was also done at UNMC... I got to spend a good long month there from complications and joke that I should at least own one room by now!)

We should definitely get together sometime! Share "war stories" and whatnot. Just PM me when you're up to it!

Thanks again to all for sharing their scar stories - definitely helps me to know I'm not alone there. I hadn't thought much of it til my mom said something to me, asking if it was bothering me. Must have bothered her more.

Thanks again!
Kerri

 

[Mentu]

If you would like yet one more experience, my incision was glued so there are no external sutures. Initially, it was a sharp thin red line but by 3 months it was a rosy pink. Now, at 6 months it is still pink but less vivid and the color seems to be diffusing into the surrounding skin as it fades. Also, as I rub my hand along it, I now feel a slight "valley" beneath it. The four small incisions were never glued or sutured and are also pink. Unlike their larger companion, they continue having a little dry skin flake away.

Larry

 

[Jeanie]

Mentu, that is a good point, I just remembered that the external part of my incision was closed with glue, too. (Not sure if that makes a difference in the healing, but I had forgotten about that.)

 

[Jeanie]

Hi Kerri, thanks for letting me know you're glad I mentioned where I am . I will send you a PM when I have wheels again. Although I've been cleared to drive, my car is in need of some repair that is not affordable yet, unfortunately. My Husband has been great about taking me to rehab exercise class and to appointments, etc; luckily his work has some schedule flexibility. I remember reading about Dr. Duncan on the UNMC website, and I recall his resume is quite impressive too.

I am really inspired by your having had multiple surgeries and still seeming so cheerful about the whole process!

 

[Marguerite53]

This may be overkill to all the great responses you've had, but, here goes. I'm almost 4 years out and my scar is still changing. I guess it has a personality!! It is so short, only 4 inches, and yet seems to be now comprised of 5 different appearances. Where no one ever sees it, it is of course, a perfect little white line. Just above that, deep in my cleavage there is a round red blob. Then, where it can be seen it seems to have flattened out considerably from the early ropey, bumpy reddness that it morphed into about 9 months out. You can see the cut line, pretty little thin white thing running down the middle. And then there is a flaring swooshiness at the top! Frankly, after this much time, I don't even see it anymore! But the first year I was very obsessed with it. Mostly because it hurt for so long!! I tried many of the aforementioned things, also had a cortisone shot which hurt like the dickens and made it fill with blood for awhile, yuk. Circular massage is supposed to be very helpful so the healing doesn't stall out and get confused. In the end, the best thing for me was acupuncture. !!! yep. It got the self-healing process righted around and the tenderness went away and it is still healing, I think!!

A quick call to the surgeon's PA (Physician's assistant) to describe the redness might be in order. My guess is that your scar is trying to heal properly but getting confused. I would personally start with some gentle massage in that area. Break up that forming scar tissue. DOn't let it win.

Good luck and you sound great!!! Sorry for your long ordeal.

Best wishes.

Marguerite

 

[Bill B]

I'm only 4 months out and my scar is just the opposite - the top half over the sternum is faint, thin and flat while the bottom part that goes below the sternum is red, raised and itches. The bottom part is more stressed by movement and my abdomen. It actually calms down overnight and then gets irritated during the daytime activities. It even stings in that part sometimes. I did not notice this initially - the whole scar seemed the same at first - but at about 2 months I started to feel feel the tension and redness in the lower part. It seems to be claming down a bit in the last week.

So, it appears there is a lot of variability in how the scar looks and behaves over time. I'm hoping mine settles down.

Bill

 

[realkarl]

My 8 month old scar has healed surprisingly well. I didn't know at the time, but now realize both that and my more recent pacemaker scars were glued. I thought they had used some advanced suturing technique just below the skin Which they surely did deeper down, but the use of superglue was news to me until my PM implant. I have a photo in one of my albums from January right after my dual pacemaker scars were added to the mix. Like Bill B, my scar has a one inch stretch towards the bottom, just where the sternum ends, where it's a little red and raised and somewhat sore to touch. This hasn't changed for months.

Karl.

 

[Star54]

My scar is still red and looks inflamed, I've developed an abnormal swellling in between my breasts that has not gone away since October, both my GP and Cardio have no idea what it is. Ive taken a sonogram but that showed nothing. They do not want to do anymore CT's and X-rays as I've had a lot since August, sooooo.... At this point it's a conversation piece, as it looks like I'm growing a third breast....I'm not concerned, no pain, and I may get rich if it is a third one...

 

[kschul]

I'm 10 months out as of yesterday, my scar looks great in the middle, wide and flat at the top, and hypertrophic the last inch. Go figure! I plan on seeing a plastic surgeon for the hypertrophic area and will let you know what she says when I see her next month. In the meantime, the wide/flat top is pink, I am very fair skinned or as I like to tell my husband porcelain skinned so it is noticeable if I wear anything low cut. I found Dermablend is a good product to blend in the scar and make it skin toned. It is basically a thicker foundation with SPF30 in it designed to cover scars and birth marks. I'm very happy with the product.