mederma v. bio oil v. xyz

[pikacat]

going in for surgery aug 9 and i'm starting to think about preparations -- getting my dog squared away with friends, getting comfy clothes and all... but as far as scarring, any thoughts on what worked for people? my first scar was a horizontal "cosmetic" incision and healed terribly. if my second incision heals as terribly, i'd feel pretty awful about it since it would be a lot more visible. any thoughts on helpful solutions? thanks!

 

[Ross]

Most people use either Mederma or Vit E. Nothing worked for me.

 

[pat45750]

Hi Pikacat My AVR is scheduled for Aug 9 too. We will be recovering at the same time. Looking forward to watching your posts after your surgery. I will take my laptop with me and hopefully be able to send an update at some point. Pat

 

[Lynlw]

Justin tried a few different things, vit E, mederma, Emu oil, Edelweiss Serum (he's had many surgeries) and nothing really worked, for HIM (to be perfectly honest, he did give up rather early) Because of his infection, his last sternal incision was closed by a plasctic surgeon so we hoped that would be really nice, but it ended up like the others, some great sections, some raised, some flat and wide. Whatever you do make sure you wait until you get the OK to put anything on your incision, I think Justin was usually told to wait 6 weeks.

 

[pikacat]

Hi Pikacat My AVR is scheduled for Aug 9 too. We will be recovering at the same time. Looking forward to watching your posts after your surgery. I will take my laptop with me and hopefully be able to send an update at some point. Pat

i'm taking my laptop, too, pat! good luck! i'm also getting an avr, maybe my mitral valve replaced, too! it'll be nice to have a buddy!

 

[pikacat]

thanks you guys. having done a bit more reading, seems like there's no real clinical studies that show that mederma or bio oil (both work with onion extract) help. vitamin e has always been kind of a mixed bag with some journals saying it might actually make scarring worse. i'm going to try those silicone gel sheets, i guess, though they're kind of expensive. it seems they at least have a few clinical trials not supported by their own companies that show they work for scarring. but i'm not very hopeful.

oh, edit. like this, if anyone's curious: http://global.smith-nephew.com/master/CICACARE_27518.htm

 

[Luana]

i'm taking my laptop, too, pat! good luck! i'm also getting an avr, maybe my mitral valve replaced, too! it'll be nice to have a buddy!

You two will be same-day surgery buddies. I have one, too. I haven't seen her post much here lately, but we do keep in touch by email.

 

[Mentu]

Keep it clean and leave it alone.

Keep it clean and leave it alone.

PC, my surgeon says to do nothing to the incision other than keeping it clean for at least 12 weeks and he prefers that one wait longer. He thinks that for most people, the things marketed to reduce scaring are for peace of mind with little effect on the development of the scar. Many, including vitamine E may actually irritate the skin at times and make the scar worse. He said he is very careful when closing to do what he can to reduce scaring so he uses no surface sutures and recommends that one be paitient. I am only a sample of one but at 10 months the upper part of my scar is only faintly pink while the lower part is just a shade darker.

It occurs to me that you might want to call your surgeon's office to tell them of your past experience with healing and ask his surgical assistant what steps are going to be taken to minimize scaring after the AVR.

Larry

 

[pikacat]

that's a good idea, larry! i definitely will talk to my drs and tell them what happened. my past gp said my OHS scar was the worst one to heal she had ever seen it just looks like a giant pink earthworm D: but fortunately it's in an area no one really sees. i'll be so sad if the other one does that all the way up to my neck pretty much. for my last one, i didn't do anything. my last drs had recommended vit e. but i had been too disgusted to touch it last time because my whole chest had been numb.

 

[drivetopless]

Be sure and get a good front closing sports bra and wear it all the time to the "girls" in check. I hear the trick is to keep the incision from getting stretched/pulled while it is healing. A vertical scar might be better for that. Anyway, good luck!

 

[pikacat]

thanks! that is great advice! i will buy one asap!