Is my chest going to look normal again???

[duncanjo]

I'm at 4 weeks post op and my scar his healing fine, however at first my muscle pecks looked droopy and not where there suppose to be more leaning downwards to the side. Is this normal?? and is my muscle pecks going be back to normal. And one more , I lost lots of upper muscle my chest area after my surgery, is that normal???

Joey
Mech Valve replacement April 04/08
Hamilton Canada

 

[Freddie]

From my personal experience - yes you do lose a lot of upper chest muscle. Heck, I couldn't even wipe off the kitchen counter 3 weeks post-op.

But give yourself time to heal.

The next time you see your doctor ask him about your muscle pecks.

 

[ctyguy]

Im 9 weeks post-op today and have lost 20 lbs and I swear its all from my chest and shoulders. Maybe a little from my stomach but not as much as I would like ! Before surgery I enjoyed lifting weights and Im back to that again but still not doing any chest related work. The doc said 12 weeks so Im going with it. I've tried some light bench presses in the last week but its still not comfortable so Im going to give it another few weeks. Tomorrow Im going to try some pushups but only go 1/2 way down as to attempt not to stretch my chest. It may be one and done but Im anxious to start building that back up again.

 

[Bryan B]

Duncanjo,

I think it's common for people to lose muscle mass in the upper body for two reasons. First you've been (pardon me) split open like a crab and spread apart in a way that the human body never intended. This has to effect your chest and upper body muscles. Secondly, during the time your sternum is healing you are not using your chest and upper body muscles very much because it would be painful to do so. But trust me...once your sternum is fully healed your muscle tone will come back as much as you want it to.

I've been working in a job that is physically demanding at times with lots of activities that naturally work my upper body. I"M HUGE! Sorry...that's a joke with my best friend because I'm an avid golfer and I'm hitting the ball further than I ever have before. I weigh 15-20 pounds more than I did at the time of surgery yet my waist size hasn't changed so that indicates that I've put on a lot of muscle mass in my upper body. Either that or I'm wearing my pants lower to allow my gut to hang out over my pants.

 

[Philip B]

Chest Muscle

Chest Muscle

Muscle tissue needs maintenance. It's normal to see some loss after surgery when your normal muscle use is reduced and any exercise activities you may have been doing are curtailed while you recover.

You can get it back if you work on it through the recovery and rehab processes. The chest area is tough because of the healing that is necessary if your sternum was split during surgery. Excessive stress on your sternum before it totally heals is something you'll pay for.

I do some weight stuff in conjunction with my cardio workouts. Even though my surgery was done over one year ago, I still go pretty easy (lighter weights-more reps) with the weights and my chest.

Progressively work yourself back into exercise activities that you enjoy as you do the recovery & rehab thing. You'll do okay.

-Philip