Scar Stages Share yours!

[demsvmejm 5]

Janet

Does your port bother you there, being so close to your waist line?

I thought they would place them above waist and below bra line...

Just courious

[JanetC 2]

The incision bothered me a touch while it was healing -- I rolled my pants down & wore a lot of shorts, but the port itself doesn't, at least not from external stuff. If I stretch or change my exercise routine then the port aches, and sometimes when I overeat it aches (weird, but true).

Congrats on being nicotine free, that's awesome!

[magnolia 1]

Those pictures are so helpful, my surgery is March 5ht and now I know what to expect. Although I thought my dr told me that four of the scars were going to be in a row.

[JanetC 2]

Look through the pages, different doctors cut in different places. Some put one of the scars in the belly button! And some of it depends on your shape as well -- my husband's are slightly different then mine. (Plus he had 6 instead of 5 due to his size.)

[silry 0]

i took this one the day after surgery. luckily most of the swelling has gone down... my tummy looks so poofy! poor thing!!! i'm still expelling the... gas. :paranoid

they are still awfully tender, but the one on the lower right side OUCH. that puppy prevents me from sleeping on my side. the port side doesn't really bother me. i'm aware of it when i twist, but mostly fine.

[bosteph 2]

This is 9 weeks post-op.

Scars - 2 mo. post op.bmp

[Marissa424 1]

I Never Had Any Brusing At All - Is That Weird? Also, I Just Posted On The Complications Page - I Have A Small Peice Of Plastic - Possible A Stich - Sticking Out Of One Of My Very Small Insicions.

[thatgirl 0]

I used the Vitamin 3 oils on my 3rd degree leg burns and boy it you don't think that'll take scars AWAY, not just lighten them, your wrong. Anybody that has they're doubts, look at my burn pics I posted. Wow, did it ever work.

thanks for that info- I bought mederma but have been using my vitamin E oil at night ( the mederma doesn't get my shirt all oily like the Vit E does ).

[November Lily 0]

I Never Had Any Brusing At All - Is That Weird?

I do not have any bruising either.

How long did you all wait before putting creams/oils etc on?

I took my plasters off today (except the port one, ill let that come off naturally I think) - I was banded 5 days ago.

[synicalchick 0]

ok.. I am going to *attempt* to attach a pic of my SEVEN incisions. I have no bruising and I am 6 days post op so I guess I'll go ahead and take of all of the remaining heart shaped gauze that they use. AT what point can I start using the vit e and mederma?

incisions.doc

[Eficka 0]

Hey all I will get a pic of my scars, Im 10months post op and my scars are very visible and purple. I guess its cause I went on vacation to Greece month after the surgery and you are not supposed to expose the scars to sun for more than one year (thats what my surgeon told me). I didnt use any Vitamin e or any ointments for heeling, cause I was told that nothing can change the way your skin heels, they said everything depends on the type and the healing ability of skin.I must say that probably my skin is bad because I have stretchmarks everywhere:-(

[synicalchick 0]

Hey there,

I'm a tanner and I was like.. well, what do I do? Cover them.. is the sun ok on them??? I googled it and found a VERY good article and thought this would be an appropriate place to post it.. plus I created a thread. I will buy some heart shaped stickers and start covering my incisions. Better to have hearts all over my tummy and have my incisions heal like they are supposed to. By the way, You can purchase the Walgreens Brand of Mederma for about 10 bucks less than the origianl.

I tan and found this to be helpful.

Sunning, Tanning Booths, & Surgery

While having a golden tan is lovely to look at - it damages the skin. Tanning is a personal choice, but it's important to know the results of doing so in conjunction with your surgery.

No one ever healed skin cancer by getting a tan. If tanning improved our skin there would be no need for sunscreens and all the media messages about skin cancer we hear daily.

Stay out of the sun before your surgery

You want your skin to be in good shape so that you can have the best chances for healing. Suntanned skin does not promote well-healed incisions.

Stay out of the sun after your surgery

Sun on your new incisions will turn them permanently red. This is not our opinion - it's a fact. Incisions need to stay out of the sun for about a year, and longer if they have not turned white. Once you sun them and turn them red, there is no going back. Only excising them and starting over will get rid of the red, sun damaged incision lines.

If you will be in the sun post-operatively (we realize we all have lives and vacations happen), please make sure your suit covers your incisions completely. Depending on how far post-op you are, you should ask your plastic surgeon if you can put sunscreen on your incisions. Sunscreens are chemicals, and it may not be a good idea to put this on your incisions if you are newly post-op, so ask your plastic surgeon. Of course, exposing them to sun would be worse, so do ask your plastic surgeon as he or she might also be able recommend the brand they'd like you to use. Some people have even put surgical adhesive tape over their incisions. This might be a good alternative to the chemical aspects of sunscreen - provided the tape stays on. Again, ask your plastic surgeon.

[Eficka 0]

Tracy, I knew it:-) yep its my case. I was told all of this but couldnt cancel on the vacation I tried to put bandages over the incisions but they were coming off all the time so after two days I dindt bother with them anymore.

Yep you can see the scars on the other hand my belly is full of stretch marks so 5 more scars dont do the difference:-) I think they can minimalize the scars with laser. But I will wait till I hit my goal and see if I need surgery (TT) or not and then I decide about the scars.

Just to everybody else, yep with the sun its really true and my scars are purple/red so if you can dont go in the sun or cover yourself:-)

[synicalchick 0]

I tanned last night 8 days post op and I just put a towel over my belly. Eflicka.. I love your Avatar Pic! It's cute like Silry's

Tracy

[Guest Band4EJ]

My surgeon used stiches instead of steri strips and the scars look terrible. I guess it is a small price to pay for a smaller belly...but my scars have those tell tale cross hatches and it frustrating that he did that. Did anybody else get stiches?