Will this big sternum bump go away???

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valerie415

valerie415

VR.org Supporter
Supporting Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2010
Messages
44
Location
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
At the top of my incision is a huge bony bump, which I guess is where the sternum is wired together or something of the sort? Just wondering if this thing is ever going to flatten out and go back to normal. Has me a bit concerned! Is everybody this way after surgery? Tx for your input! :)
 
Bump?

Bump?

Hi Valerie,

If it's the normal sternum bump most of us had following surgery, yes it will go away. It usually takes awhile.

-Philip
 
Yes, the bump will gradually go down.
It is swelling that will subside within 2-3 months or so.
 
valerie415 said:
At the top of my incision is a huge bony bump, which I guess is where the sternum is wired together or something of the sort? Just wondering if this thing is ever going to flatten out and go back to normal. Has me a bit concerned! Is everybody this way after surgery? Tx for your input! :)
Click to expand...
to stress that EVERYBODY is different is critical but as you know there are similarities among patients and this seems to be a common one

glad you are back here in Canada
by the way the bump in your sternum may make you sing the Amy Winehouse song Valerie like this so sorry but DATS DE FAX
lol


[video=youtube;-NTHpb2robE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NTHpb2robE&feature=related[/video]
 
It took mine about 3 months to go back to normal. I think it is just swelling. I don't know why the hospitals do not warn us of this so we don't worry!
 
Valerie, same here - mine was like half an egg under the skin. The lump at the top of the sternum can take awhile to go away just as the others said. At eight months, I still have a slight swelling there but it is much much smaller than it started out. My family Doctor says it is very common and takes it's own time disappearing. Everyone in my Cardiac Rehab group had one.

Larry
 
As the others said, it's swelling - just the body's way of trying to heal - but it sure is irritating. I was given some very good advice: massage it with the palm of your hand - spreading outward from the bump. This really helps with the swelling and also helps to desensitize the area.
 
Let us know if you need help massaging it. We can send either Ross, Gil or I in shifts ;)

Same experience here - was concerned at first about that bump, but went away pretty quick for me, within first month I think. Now at week 8 post-op and it's basically gone, although that's the one area I still have a small amount of pain in. The rest of my sternum is totally pain-free (doesn't even feel like a bruise anymore)! I've been amazed how quickly it's healed up! Also, totally agree with "Yo" Adrienne - they should tell everyone about that bump before surgery - I think they covered everything else with me except that, and how big of a dent the chest tube was gonna cause.
 
Thanks for the massage offers, ha ha! It's sure nice to keep a sense of humor thru all this!
Well, I'm almost 3 weeks post op and it seems as swollen as ever, but I'm trusting it will eventually go down like it did for you all. It's amazing how fast the incision heals and the scabs fall off. I guess all the big stuff is on the inside. Anybody know of a site that shows some sort of pictures of what the wired sternum looks like in there?
 
sternum wires

sternum wires

Val, I actually got to see my sternum wires (via fluoroscopy) 4 weeks ago wheen I had my pacemaker replaced. It was before my surgeon came in (she's always late!) and they were getting me preped and I said I wanted to see the fluoroscope so they sat me up and showed me my pacemaker that was gto be replaced and showed me the leads (after I asked them what those wires were that were floating around in my chest). Actually, they weren't floating of course but they were so dark in contrast to the blood vessels. So they asked me if I knew what those dark oval things were (I thought they were vertabrae) but they said they were the sternum wires from my OHS in 2005. That was so neat to see all that! Maybe one of us can find a picture of it for you but it's bedtime now. I just finished skyping with my daughter who is a missionary in Orlando at the home base for Wycliffe Bible Translators. She was installing a new dead bolt on her front door and we were watching (standing guard) while she went to get another tool. Figured we could scare any potential intruder by screaming through her laptop!! :eek2:
 
Hi Barb,
Thanks for your note, that's so interesting. Somehow I thought that the wires would dissolve, but from what you said, they stay there for good, is that right?
Ha, that's funny how you were standing guard thru the laptop! With God nothing is impossible, He definitely could have used you to scare anybody away! I've been doing missionary work for the last 39 years and just now stopping for a break!! God bless your dear daughter and her work. and GBY!
Bye for now!!
Valerie
 
I am about month and a half post opt and i also have a bump on top of m sternum. I used some cold compress and it helped a little. i go see my surgeon in a few days and find out about it. I also found out you can't
try and remodel your kitchen either!1 I was feeling so good I staterted to work on my kitchen, just bad...now I am sore near my sternum, and my pulse jumped up. Everthing went back to normal after a good rest.
Now I am just relaxing and will let some else do the work!! Moral...just do things that are easy!!
 
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