Valve Incision

[Marty]

Plastic scar repair

Plastic scar repair

I had what the surgeons call a "plastic" repair. I never could see any stitches and now three years later can hardly see the scar. I have a young friend done by the same group who did not fare so well after a mitral valve repair. His incision kept opening. The cardiac surgeons referred him to plastic surgeons who had to work with him about six months to get him to stay closed. He's fine now and I don't know that they ever found a reason for his problem.

 

[Gail in Ca]

While I do consider myself very lucky to have survived 2 AVR's in 12 years,I am a bit envious of the newer techniques for smaller incisions. I am now, after the last surgery 14 mos ago, able to wear whatever
swim suit or top or dress I want,and am not bothered by the look of a scar or what people think.
My sternum scar is 10 1/2" long, about 2-3" longer than the first scar. But, it is a good scar and hardly noticable now. I had my wires removed and so it is very smooth.
If I ever need my mitral replaced, my surgeon,Dr. Miller at Stanford, said he would go in thru the side. He has seen it, however, and knows what would be involved, so maybe that is the difference. I would assume for 2 valve replacements at once, one would have to have a sternal opening.
Before my surgery I asked my surgeons to give me a good scar and they promised to do so.
They did and I am so thankful for their caring and expertise!!
A woman I exercised with had a plastic surgeon close her after heart surgery because she was worried that her surgeon didn't seem to care about how it looked. However, her scar is very wide now and has alot of keloid tissue, so using a plastic surgeon may not guarantee good results. Lucky for her the incision is a smaller one and so it doesn't show with a v-neck top like mine does.
Gail