scar healing

[TjCarpenter]

LOL, is your other name Big Foot? You grew all that chest hair back in three weeks? I am impressed!!! Your scar looks great, very professional looking picture!

Yes, yes, yes... Perhaps a career in wildlife photography? The poor nurse went through two razors to prep me before surgery . Honestly, there was a delay in getting started because I need to be shorn! Good news is that all will be hidden soon like some Mayan ruins in the jungles of the Yucatan . Out of sight, out of mind. BUT, it itches like crazy!!!!! I think it is more itchy than it is painful right now .

Regards,

Tom

 

[hensylee]

BUT, it itches like crazy!!!!!

kinda reminds me of those babies I gave birth to. They shaved our whole bodies, it seemed. Itched like crazy.

All 3 were worth it, tho.

 

[mmarshall]

just wondering...i know this is the scar thread but i do have a question about the shaving thing since it was brought up. i noticed two days after surgery...once i was able to take a very slow and careful shower sitting down that....not to get too graphic here...but i had a mohawk down there. wasn't informed about that befoe surgery but i was like...oh well...whatever when i left the hospital and was home recovering, i put on some shorts and noticed that i had some smooth legs. turns out that they shaved the inner part of my legs from my ankles all the way up to my mohawk...lol i'm sure that had to do with the vein that goes through your leg and they shaved my inner legs just in case they had to access that. did anyone else have that done or were they just having fun with me?

 

[Ashley]

just wondering...i know this is the scar thread but i do have a question about the shaving thing since it was brought up. i noticed two days after surgery...once i was able to take a very slow and careful shower sitting down that....not to get too graphic here...but i had a mohawk down there. wasn't informed about that befoe surgery but i was like...oh well...whatever when i left the hospital and was home recovering, i put on some shorts and noticed that i had some smooth legs. turns out that they shaved the inner part of my legs from my ankles all the way up to my mohawk...lol i'm sure that had to do with the vein that goes through your leg and they shaved my inner legs just in case they had to access that. did anyone else have that done or were they just having fun with me?

Mike,
That is too funny! I'm sure it has to do with accessing that vein in your leg - but still! I like how the M&M looks like he is gesturing at the scar with a peeved look on his face, like "what the #&%$ is this??". Thanks for sharing the pics - it makes me feel both better and worse to see what it looks like. For sure it looks very painful - eeek!
Ashley

 

[TjCarpenter]

Wonder if our height has anything to do with the length of the scar?

I'm 5.10" and my scar is 7"..

Re: Mohawk and leg treatment... Ditto! What makes matters worse is the fact that my legs were pretty hairy and having just the sides shaved looks ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS!. As for the "bikini area" (ha,ha,ha)... I just felt that they were "going that way" and forgot to stop! At least they were kind enough to do an "even" job of it so that it will grow back at the same rate. Just one more of those "special" extras that come with OHS. Lucky us!

Regards,

Tom

 

[Cris N]

Mohawks & bikini

Mohawks & bikini

Hey guys,

Just be thankful they didn't resort to waxing the hair off.

Thanks for giving me a good laugh!

Cris

 

[Big-Chuck]

scar healing

I am 6.5 wks post-op and went to the hospital today and found out that my incision, about the top 3 inches, is infected. why it has been so sore and bleeding slightly. So here we go with the antibiotics for a couple of wks.

 

[pmenhenett]

I never thought I'd want a hairy chest!

I never thought I'd want a hairy chest!

I enjoyed seeing all the incision photos - it makes me realize my scar is ok. I never thought, as a woman, I'd wish for a hairy chest but it really does help hide the scar!

Has anyone tried any scar treatments? I tried several after my first op 14 months ago but really couldn't see any difference. I last one I tried was Neosporin Scar Soluition.

 

[perkicar]

Re: Mohawk and leg treatment... Ditto! What makes matters worse is the fact that my legs were pretty hairy and having just the sides shaved looks ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS!. As for the "bikini area" (ha,ha,ha)... I just felt that they were "going that way" and forgot to stop! At least they were kind enough to do an "even" job of it so that it will grow back at the same rate. Just one more of those "special" extras that come with OHS. Lucky us!

Regards,

Tom

Well, it was probably so they'd have easy access to your femoral arteries on both sides just in case. I noticed that my legs had the orange surgical prep, can't remember if they were shaved or if I had a mohawk LOL when I woke up. That makes sense, though. LOL, Hadn't though how traumatizing it could be for a guy to wake up with partially shaved legs.

 

[cocoalab]

Wonder if our height has anything to do with the length of the scar?

I'm 5.10" and my scar is 7"..

I don't know as Andrew is only 5'4 and his scar is 7 1/2''.

 

[hensylee]

I enjoyed seeing all the incision photos - it makes me realize my scar is ok. I never thought, as a woman, I'd wish for a hairy chest but it really does help hide the scar!

Has anyone tried any scar treatments? I tried several after my first op 14 months ago but really couldn't see any difference. I last one I tried was Neosporin Scar Soluition.

everything we can come up with has been tried by one or another of us. Nothing seems to hurry it along or make is less a scar. Take heart that down the road sometime, your scar will turn faint and it won't be noticed - hardly at all, unless someone looks close. But it will take a long time. Mine is 5 yrs old and it's sorta faint, but surely there. Another one from 2 yrs ago is still lilac colored, but getting fainter. (is fainter a word? probably not)

 

[tobagotwo]

Per a request, I was faithfully applying over-the-counter scar-reducing products for a couple of months, starting two months or so after surgery.

After finally giving it up as entirely ineffective, what I found is that the scar fades on its own over time.

I am certain some people here will disagree with me, so realize I am only speaking for my own experience. Some people swear by Vitamin E, or one of the OTC products, and I believe that if they use them long enough for the scar to fade on its own, then they do "work." Sort of like elephant repellent.

If you don't mind feeling greasy, go ahead. None of these things should hurt you once the skin has sealed from the incision.

As far as the shaving, I was sporting a one-sided Mohawk from the cath for a while. The whole chest was shaved for the OHS. And those techs keep shaving little holes in my fur to stick sensor pads to me for tests. That I find really annoying, as the spotty hairlessness looks like the results of mange.

Best wishes,

 

[jeffp]

Has anyone tried any scar treatments? I tried several after my first op 14 months ago but really couldn't see any difference. I last one I tried was Neosporin Scar Soluition.

1/2 my scar is OK and 1/2 is rather hypertrophic, bordering on keloid. I never (until this) scar much at all. Oh well, beats the alternative. I tried Mederma for a while, but could rarely keep up with the 4x/day application. Have been using Dow Corning silicone sheeting about 8 hours per day for the past month and it does seen to be reducing the thickness and stiffness of the hypertrophic areas. I'll see how it goes over time. I've had post op scar patients that have done well with this but it does take time - never thought I'd be doing it myself. (never found any good clinical studies on this but frequent anecdotal reports - I figured it's not going to make anything worse and it does keep the shirt from touching the scar; which is a bit sensitive still.O

 

[mmarshall]

Wonder if our height has anything to do with the length of the scar?

I'm 5.10" and my scar is 7"..

not sure...im 5'9 with a 7 inch scar so i could go with that logic. im sure it has to do with the length of the person's sternum and the comfort level of the surgeon. some surgeon's maybe more comfortable with more room to work with so they may get a little carried away. i know my surgeon told me that the scar would be 4 to 6 inches...when they took off the gauze and i saw it in the mirror...i was like...uuuuuh...either this mirror makes objects appear larger than what they are or this vicodin is some really gooood stuff....because this is not 4 to 6 inches...lol but oh well...it doesn't bother me and i think it will not even be that bad at all in a couple of years....once the redness goes away. besides...."chics dig scars" don't they?...lol

 

[Rain]

YUP.... me and Sherrin won the contest!

YUP.... me and Sherrin won the contest!

How can our height NOT have something to do with the length of our scars? I?m 6' and the proud owner of a 9 ½ incher with three little lines underneath....

Hey!! Rossman..... what if I want to show my whole scar ... with my shirt open like Bobs....

 

[Mary]

Rain,
I think you should show your scar. I think it's do-able. I'd experiment myself, but I have to get a picture taken first.

 

[Emma]

Height has surely got something to do with it. Chloe is 114cms tall and has a 4 inch scar and lots of little chest drain ones too.
Emma
xxx

 

[tobagotwo]

5'10" with a 13.5" main scar.

You forget that the size of the surgeon's hands makes a big difference. A deft surgical wizard, but with hands like Goofy...

 

[geebee]

I think we women can do scar pics with a properly draped shirt. What do you say, ladies?

BTW, I am 5'8" with an 11.5" scar so I don't know about the relationship. However, I have had 3 OHS and don't remember if the first scar was shorter.

 

[coryp]

Scar size

Scar size

OK OK,

5'9 1/2 9" SCAR.

The relevance is not based on height at all, entirely the surgeons willingness to cut!!! The size of his hands and comfort working within confined spaces (smaller incisions).

I asked my brother in-law (Dr)