How long is your scar??

[Debbie]

Hey everyone, I'm 13 days post-op today and feeling pretty good so far. My bandages came off pretty slowly and the last one came off today so I could'nt wait to see my scar. I measured it and it is 9 inches! Wow it's pretty long. It does look very nice though I can barely see parts of it, the doc. did a great job. I'll be taking a picture in a few days to post, hey Lorie I might beat you to it, lets see who gets the pic. up first DEbbie

 

[Curtsmum]

I have never measured my sons scar, it stops about 2inchs from his belly button. I must say i was surprised at how well Curts scar looks, it is flat shinny and white. I saw a man who had his done quit awhile ago and his was really thick and stands out alot. I was worried what the scar would look like after a second ohs but i have been informed that it will not make it look any worse, possibly can look better?

 

[Cooker]

Mine is about 8", very thin, very flat and for the most part covered with hair.... I feel VERY fortunate.... I have read about the keloid (sp?) scars but had never seen one until recently.... I had a client and the conversation turned to OHS and scars.... After 11 years his is still raised and painful.... He has had surgery on the scar twice.... I had never heard of this type of scaring until after OHS.... Like I said, I feel very fortunate.

 

[kfay]

Even though my scar isn't very long, I was one of the unfortunate ones who got a keloid on mine. After a year of very painful steroid shots into the scar, I finally had it cut out and had one superficial radiation treatment that prevented the scar from overgrowing. My scar now looks great....until April 10th that is! I know I will keloid again (I'm not a great healer) and I have already requested a radiology consult at the Mayo Clinic because the radiation treatment has to be done the day after the incision is made to be effective and I'm trying to avoid having to have it cut out again and start from scratch.

 

[WayneGM]

Mine is 4.5 inches and skinny at the top and gets thicken as it runs down. It's thickest at the bottom. Unfortunately, I am prone to keloid. It is dark, shiny, raised, and itchy, especially when I sweat. In fact, my incision runs through a keloid I already had from a minor scratch, and that's the itchiest spot.

 

[Ross]

I'm filleted. About 13 inches long.

 

[Marguerite53]

Mine is 4 inches long and I'm fairly tall at 5'8". I swear it used to be 4.5 inches, so perhaps it has shrunk down some (2 years out in April). However. It is hypertropied/keloiding most of the way except about a quarter inch of that pretty pearly white line which is hidden completely in my cleavage. The rest of it is a ropey, red, distorted bump that's shiny, very tender and hard. The very top does seem to be flattening out some. After having "introduced it" to some well-dressed women who reassured me it was no big deal, I wear whatever I want and use a little mineral make-up on it to tone down the shine. (Of course I think it sticks out like a stop sign!)

I am currently using a new massage oil, accupuncture and chromotherapy (colored light) on it. I know......weeeuuuoooo--weeeuuuooo stuff . But I just couldn't rectify the expense of a plastic surgeon at this point, and having tried one steroid shot and gotten a disconcerting little blood blister, I'm trying the naturopathic route first. Had to interrupt treatment with the accupuncturist due to our daughter's needing some instead (it ain't cheap either!!) and will resume in March.

Kfay's treatment sounds encouraging too, although there is another member here who had a radiation treatment and I'm not sure that one went as well.

Being that mine is so small, it's hard to complain....I just cannot wear most of my favorite pendants or lockets as they bang uncomfortably against it and cause me to wince. And the scar's too high to shorten the jewelry up and have it keep its look really (though I did shorten my one expensive piece). Like I said....not very much to complain about.

Wishing everyone that pretty white line like Cooker has!! Lucky ape!!

Marguerite

 

[Freddie]

Just measured this scar of mine (its one thing I try not to look at often) and its exactly 5" long. Smooth and white with some shinny and pink spots. The drainage marks on the other hand are lumpy (keloid?) - like little speed bumps, but they too are white. These two drainage holes were never stitched just tapped with a butterfly band-aid.

My scar never had bandages on it. I bet Debbie's will heal very nicely.....lucky girl.

 

[Bad Mad]

While reading through the first line of some of these posts, my face was Apologies for the immaturity. I really enjoyed your entree cooker!!

Mine is about 9 inches long, the 2nd scar to the right but only about a third as thick as the first.
But hey, they say size doesn't matter..right?

 

[Jeff S]

Put me down for 8 inches. I'm now 11 weeks out, and it's healed up fairly nicely. It's mainly a light red in color, and my two "bullet holes" have healed up also.

The "bullet holes" were the grossest looking things for a few weeks, with pus and the like coming out of them. Those steri-strips didn't work very well--I finally just let them air out.

Jeff

 

[Bina]

Mine is 7 inches and looking good. Initially I had minor infection at the top and bottom of it, I should have ripped those stuck steri strips off sooner! The very top end continually scabbed over and then would open again on the surface.....very annoying. Being thin, there just was not enough meat on my sternum to nourish the healing wound.
Mid section has small bumps from wires....grosses me out to touch it.

 

[harleygirl528]

My scar is about 6" long but it starts fairly low, only about 3 inches above my cleavage, so the rest of the scar is hidden in my cleavage so I feel pretty fortunate. Although I don't know how it will look ultimately, since it has only been 3 weeks, so far it looks pretty good. I never had a bandage on my scar and I don't know if that helped or not. the only scab I have left is about an inch a the very top, the rest is just a thing litle line, kind of pinkish, purplish. The bottom of the scar does have a litle spot that got some whittish fluid accumulating. The bullet holes were the worst...I hate steri-strips! When I removed them they were nasty and infected and are just now starting to heal up. I am sure the scars from the bullet holes will be the worst. I'll be posting a picture soon!

 

[Praline]

I am 2 years out of surgery. My scar is about 9 1/2 inches long. It starts right under my collar bone. It is a white line with pinkish on each side. It would not be too bad except for a small area about 4 inches down that has what looks like broken blood vessels . That area is quite noticeable. I think is shows more because I am thin and my upper chest is practically skin and bones.
My scar healed really well and I never had any problem with it. The doctor told me not to put anything on it except antibactarial soap with no scent. He said to drip that soapy water on the scar, rinse it, and pat it dry with a soft towel. I had steri-strips.That's what I did from the beginning and it healed pretty fast.

 

[Adrienne]

Mine is 6" long (it starts about 2" down from the top of the sternum). The bottom 2" are hypertrophied a bit (not keloid - I looked at pictures on the Internet of keloid and hypertrophied scars and the keloid are much bigger).
Unfortunately, I cannot hide any of my scar in a cleavage, as I have no cleavage!!

I tried to attach a picture, but I had trouble doing it.

 

[lieb2101]

10.5"

Although, I'm a big dude and they had a lot of work to do (6" of my aorta was replaced along with my valve).
My scar starts at the base of my neck (right where a t-shirt neck would cover) and goes down to about 5-6" above my bellybutton.
I'm thankful that that's all I ended up with because the surgeon originally told me that he'd have to cut up above my adams apple
I'm 2 weeks out and it's still scabbed up in parts, I'm guessing that it will end up being less than 1/4" wide but it's rather raised up at the top.

-Brian

 

[Guest]

My scar is 5 1/2 inches long, a fine line, still red, sometimes it fades. I expect it to take atleast 6 months to a year to turn entirely white, the scar on my neck took that long and now you can hardly see it. I hope that's how my chest scar will heal. I notice after exercise when my body temp is up, my scar is a little raised on the lower end. My 2 1/2 bullet holes are little red lines, the 1/2 is the little one where the pacing wire was.

I had steri strips on my scar that fell off after 3 weeks, I thought they would never fall off and I was showering every day. The bullet holes were never bandaged and healed nicely. I still have a little lump at the top of my sternum. I guess it will take a little more time to go down. My surgeon says about another 9 weeks for the sensitivity to touch that I occasionally get to go away.

 

[Resqrn]

Almost 8" long railroad track. Reddish dark pink top 1/3 then start to get lighter bottom 2/3. Top 1/4" wide and bottom is about 1/2" wide semi-keloid, staples were in about 14 days so you can see the hole scars pretty well. Chest tube scars: plural=white "plus" signs and pericardial=reddish "pluses" (4 chest tubes total). Most of the scar is semi-covered with hair. Kinda want to shave around the scar to make it more noticeable .

 

[michellep]

Mine is 4 inches long and just barely peeks out from my cleavage.

 

[Ross]

Mine is 4 inches long and just barely peeks out from my cleavage.

Do we have a tawdry shirt pic of you?

 

[Trinityheart8891]

hey,

mine is 11 inches long (I'm only 5 ft tall), I have a few inches of thinner scar poking out from the edges of the thicker scar, probably 4 or 5 inches from the middle to the bottom, its probably from my first surgery in 1988, the last time the thicker scar was cut open was in 1991, about 17 yrs ago (in march)it starts at my left collar bone (it curves to the left a little) and goes to about 4 or 5 inches above my belly button. I also have 4 chest tube scars. mine is still sensitive (it doesnt hurt, just feels really funny) it is pretty pale, but it is raised and shiny, if I get sun in the summer it doesnt change color, just stays the same, so it shows more.

I can also feel my wires underneath it, it is freaky feeling.