Stomach Scar.....

[Melissa778]

Ok, I know this is vain and silly compared to all that we've all been through....but it really bugs me.....

I had translab in May, and they took fat from my stomach....and my scar is HORRIBLE on my stomach......crooked, sore, and i have skin rolling around it where it's all pulled funny.....I just hate it.  I am slender and petite and it really bugs me that I now have this roll of skin that all of my shirts seem to cling too.  I hate the appearance of it.....I'm young and I still want to wear a bikini and lay by the pool.....but my stomach is awful!  I have two children and fairly minimal stretch marks ( i know I'm lucky) I know it's horrible to complain about such a thing considering things could be much worse.  ANd I understand that these are neurosurgeons removing the fat, not plastic surgeons....it just really upsets me. 

So now my question is, could I have reconstructive surgery to correct that?  And would my insurance cover something like that?

[Debbi]

It's not vain at all.  In my opinion, the belly scar is much worse looking than the translab scar (at least in my case).  I am not sure about plastic surgery and insurance - my guess is that it won't cover it.  However, there are some things you can do to minimize the hard ridge, which is scar tissue. 

Believe it or not, massage will help.  I bought an oil called Bio Oil at the local drug store a couple of weeks ago and use it twice a day, gently massaging it into the incision area.  Amazingly, the scar has already faded somewhat, and I think the lump has gotten a bit smaller.  My massge therapist also said that massaging scar tissue helps to break it down.  You may just need to give it more tiem (I know, who wants to hear that!)

I'll be curious as to what others have to say on this.

Debbi

[Cheryl R]

Give your self time.     I have had 2 abdominal fat incisions and the 2nd  looked horrible and big and knotty.              I figured it would never look better but now 2 years later it is slightly inverted in with no bumps at all and a silvery color.  Looks just the first one.    I was amazed.          I did absolutely nothing to help it.
     Maybe next year at the symposium we can have a contest in who has the best looking abdominal scar.  Another contest for the largest and smallest.      LOL!         It would have to be a female only doing with no males present!               
                                                  Cheryl R

[JulieW4]

I feel the same way.  I like the idea of bringing this subject up at the symposium.  I really do feel that the docs need to talk with plastic surgeons on how to extract fact with minimal cutting and scarring.  Everyone that I have shown my belly scar to have all thought that it was a bit excessive. 

Thanks Debbie for the oil and massage tip.

[Melissa778]

Another thing my Primary care doc suggested was to maybe wear shapewear...like spanx, maybe that would help minimize and "tighten" things so to speak.  Not sure the guys would be into wearing the spanx....but it would be a funny sight!!

Melissa

[Joef]

we always see our own imperfections ... and make more out of them that anyone see's ...

from a guys point of view ... a  beautiful woman in a bikini .... we are not looking at a tiny belly scar !!    

[Debbi]

Joef- thanks for bringing a male perspective to our raging belly scar debate!  And, according to my husband, you make a very good point.  He thinks I've made much ado about nothing...

As for the oil - I think it really is working.  And, it smells good.   

Debbi, in love with my Blinkeze and belly oil!

[shygirl]

Daydreamer-

I'm with you on this one!!

Thanks Debbi for the tip on massage.

And thank you joeF for pointing out that men aren't paying attention to a belly scar!!! You're right, though...women are "our own worst critics".

My belly scar wouldn't be so bad if the surgeons hadn't cut a gaping hole above it. I'm also slender with 3 kids. I lucked out with the stretch marks, though...all under my bellybutton! The "hole" scar is what bothers me.

[Jim Scott]

From another guy's point of view: I don't think it's vain for a relatively young woman with a decent figure to be concerned about a visible, ugly scar on her body.   I can appreciate any woman's concern over visible scarring from the belly incision.  My wife had some surgical scarring about 10 years ago and was fortunate that the scars eventually dissipated.  She used lots of vitamin E oil, which helped.  Had the scarring not resolved on it's own, I would have seriously considered plastic surgery for her if she had wanted it.  I doubt our medical insurance would have covered it but we would have found a way to pay for it, even if that took some time.   

Of course, minimizing the incision in the first place would be the best solution.  I hope the doctors will start to recognize and address that issue, especially with younger female patients.  The skull incision isn't any larger than necessary, so why should the belly incision not reflect that attempt at minimization? 

I agree that this would be an excellent subject to raise at the AN symposium this year or next.  My hope is that AN surgeons eventually abandon the 'belly fat approach', as mine did, and thus make this a moot point. 

Jim

[wendysig]

Hi Daydreamer,
It is unfortunate that doctors do not seem to take this kind of thing into consideration when they operate on anyone.  Some do, but they all should.  After all, they wouldn't appreciate it if another doctor left them or a loved one with an ugly and unnecessarily large scar.  I just came from my pre-op apointment with my doc and told him I would  probably have more questions before next Fridayl.  Luckily, he really doesn't mind since we keep in touch through e-mails.  He actually told me as ask much more interesting questions than most of his patients.  I wonder what he'll think of this one.  I hope the massage and belly oil Debbi recommended work for you.  How are you doing otherwise?

Wendy

[leapyrtwins]

Hate to say it, but I don't think insurance would cover a surgery to "fix" the scar. 

They'd probably view it as not medically necessary.

Jan

[Melissa778]

I know they most likely won't cover it, but I may still go forth with it.  My incision is almsot four inches total....under my belly button......it's all scrunched and somewhat "gathered" looking....think elastic waist band....I knwo it's silly to be worried about such a thing, but I had a nice stomach prior to this   Oh, well....it is, what it is.....I jsut wondered if anyoen felt the way I do.  Nice to see I'm nto alone   It's nto so much the scar itself that bothers me, just the way my skin gathers and pinches, and is "bunched" around the scar.....AS I said, I may invest in some spanx to flatten it all out    I will definentley be trying to oil too.

Melissa

[Debbi]

Not silly at all, Melissa.  I personally think my belly scar is much more bothersome than the head scar.  Mine was hideously bunched up for the first couple of months, but it does definitely seem to be getting smoother and flatter now.  It feels a little freaky to massage it, but I know it helps in terms of breaking down some of the scar tissue.  Hang in there - it will get better, and if you aren't happy with the end result, there is always plastic surgery.

Debbi, oil at the ready...

[leapyrtwins]

Melissa -

I don't think you're silly at all.

If I were your age and had a nice looking belly, I'd definitely look into doing something about the scar if it bothered me that much.  You're talking to a woman who had a rhinoplasty (fancy word for nose job) at the age of 17 

My scar isn't bad at all, plus I'm long past the age of having a nice, flat belly - let's not forget I had twins!  So at this stage of my life, my scar is irrelevant to me, but if I were in your shoes, I'd pursue it.

Jan

[wendysig]

Melissa,
You scar sounds large and unsightly but hopefully it will even out  with time.  I mentioned this to my neurotologist since I am having my surgery on Friday.  I have had several other operations and already have a fairly scarred abdomen, 5 operations and a drain due to perotinitus, so far not including this one but only three separate scars.  One of my doctors used the same incision line for three operations)  According to my neurotologist he and oher doctors of his ilk do have a fair amount of training in plastic surgery so there is really no excuse at all for crooked scars.  I think pretty much everything else sorts itself out during the healing process.  I was also thankful to learn that my incsion will only be about 2 1/2 - 3 inches.  I'm pretty confident I can count on him to give me a decent looking scar, but like Jan, I'm past worrying too much about it.  Wishing you good luck in whatever you decide to do.

Wendy