Scar Picture

[Amanda]

Here's me and my scar. This is about 2 weeks post-surgery.



http://www.valvereplacement.org/forums/asset.php?fid=8573&uid=7454&d=1281320260

If this is too offensive, I'll gladly remove. Tried to show entire scar while keeping it tasteful. The bottom two scars are courtesy of the chest tubes. I'm at 8 weeks and the scar looks so much better.

 

[Mentu]

Amanda, your photo is in very good taste. Your incision and drain holes look very much the way mine did at that point. I'm now at 10 and a half months and my incision is just a faded pink line little different from the surrounding skin; actually, the top couple of inches has so little color that it is no longer recognizable to most people. Hopefully, your's will proceed the same way. It is kind of you to share what your's looks like. So many of us didn't know what to expect except for what we found here in VR.

I must admit that before surgery I was a little troubled at the thought of having a large scar but that has changed. It has become sort of a badge of achievement and in some ways I shall miss seeing it easily. At the same time, the fading of the incision is sort of a recovery clock. As it fades I am farther from surgery and and closer to the day when I do not think of myself as a recovering heart patient. Your photo will be more important to you in three or four months when you can take another and compare the two images. I hope your recovery is going well, Amanda. Take care.

Larry

 

[ARGreenMN]

Looks good and will get better every week for a few weeks (maybe first 6 weeks or so) then the improvement will plateau out for a while. I'm at week 14 and mine has looked essentially the same now for several weeks. But, based on what I've seen from others, I'm hoping by about 9 months, it'll be even less noticeable. Even if there's no more improvement, I'm not embarrassed by it at all the way it is now. I totally agree with Larry - it helps those in the waiting room to see pics like this so they can get a feel for how it's not really that big a deal. So keep posting 'em!

 

[Amanda]

Hi Larry,

Thank you for your kind words and encouragement.

I agree with you, my scar is important to me and kind of a badge. When my cardiologist laid on me the terrible news that I needed valve surgery, my FIRST question was how long would the scar be! I still can't believe I asked that first. I do play beach volleyball but still. Already my scar looks much better. The scab is off and it is a skinny scar. I've even worn a lower cut blouse that shows part of the scar. i just got sick of wearing t-shirts or higher neck tops to cover my scar. It doesn't look that good but I certainly don't mind exposing it.

I still feel quite a bit of discomfort across my chest and at the incision site. I'm not sure if you can remember back to the 8 week mark but I still sleep on my back and propped up because when I move on my side, it hurts too much. In the morning when I first wake up, the pain is very evident. It is certainly getting better but boy, I thought the pain would be gone by this point. It's a bit frustrating. At cardiac rehab when we do arm stretches, that does me in as well. Am I just a big baby??

By the way, your photo didn't come through. I was disappointed as I love pictures of scars. Weird but true.

Amanda

 

[Amanda]

Thanks, Andy. I will take another pic of the scar at 8 weeks when my kids get home tomorrow. It really does look much better and should be encouraging to the pre-surgery folks. Funny how vanity creeps into open-heart surgery. My neighbor, who is around my age (I'm 44), had the very same surgery a year ago. I know, what's in the water. Anyway, he got the minimally-invasive surgery so he has hardly any evidence of scarring.

Amanda

 

[Superbob]

Nice scar picture. Not distasteful at all. These are indeed our badges of courage. Display them with pride.

 

[Maryka]

Nice picture. Did you know that there is a thread on this site (Toots) where such pictures are commenorated forever?

 

[ARGreenMN]

Yea, I forgot to mention that too - the forum is called The Order of Tawdry Shirts (TOOTS) and it's towards the bottom of the list of forums on the forum tab. That's where a lot of our scar pics are. For example, I think I have some at 1 wk, 2 wks, 3 wks, 4 wks, 9 wks, 12 wks, etc. so everyone knows what to expect as far as progression of the scar.

 

[nngbwh]

Looking good.

 

[Mentu]

Others have seen this one but I've attached it here.

Larry