ANA Discussion Forum
General Category => AN Issues => Topic started by: MAlegant on August 01, 2008, 05:45:22 am
-
Not that I'm not proud of the darned thing, but the very bottom of it is raised, kind of like a gill, as weird as that sounds. Is there something I can do to promote the best healing possible? I will wear this scar and probably won't cover it since my hair is usually pretty short. Any suggestions from the brain trust ( ;D) would be welcome.
Thanks,
Marci
-
Hi Marci,
Yes the scar will continue healing and looking beter. You're just 9 days from surgery, try to be patient! :D Have you had you stitches out yet? There are probably a few internal stitches for the various layers involved. The internal stitches will reabsorb in time, helping the scar flatten out.
Regards,
Rob
-
Hi Rob,
Yes, stitches are out, and I hear what you're saying about patience. Does anyone notice a theme here? (write one hundred times on chalkboard, "you must be patient".
:D
-
Marci -
My scars from both my translab and my BAHA were both raised and not so pretty for a little while post op. Now they are both nice and flat and not even noticable. I thought the very bottom of my translab scar would show when I put my hair in a pony-tail, but it doesn't.
So, keep that chalk going and maybe by the time you get to the end, your scar will flatten out and look pretty - like mine! ;D
Lori
-
Hi Marci -
Thanks for your message and good wishes during my hospital stay. I finally got home from the hospital late yesterday afternoon and am now trying to catch up with everything that's going on here. Glad to see you are feeling well enough to wonder about your belly scar I just came from seeing the doctor and this is something he brought up to me. Yes, your belly scar will flaten out as it heals. From what he told me, the fact that it is raised now is a good indication that the scar will heal really well and look good eventually. Hope that you are feeling well and on the fast track to recovery.
Best wishes,
Wendy
-
Wendy!
You wonder woman, you. Welcome home and to postie land. I don't have a belly scar, it's the other I was asking about, but the same rules apply. Take care of yourself, nap, heal, eat, laugh and let others take care of you. You'll be cleaning the kitchen again before long. I just loaded the dishwasher. Doesn't it say somewhere that if you've had brain surgery, you never have to clean a kitchen again? ???
Be well,
Marci
-
Marci -
just adding to what everyone else said. My AN scar - and my belly scar - flattened out over time. I had surgery at the end of May 2007 and by the time I had my BAHA implant in March 2008, my AN scar was practically invisible.
Jan
-
Thanks Jan and others. I'll start visualizing a flat scar. By the way, I just had my first real shower-without-a-shower-cap. It was practically a religious experience.
:D
-
Hi Marci,
I remember that first post-op shower. It was 5 days after surgery. Even though I washed up daily in the hospital, I felt I smelled pretty bad. That was the longest shower I ever remember having.
About the scar...only about an inch or so shows on my neck below the hairline. That bit is still bulky. The rest of the scar has flattened out already at almost 7 weeks post-op.
Syl
-
Showers post op are incredible - I think it's the whole "I can wash my hair now" thing :D
Ah, yes, it's the little things in life . . . ;)
Jan
-
Doesn't it say somewhere that if you've had brain surgery, you never have to clean a kitchen again? ???
I thought I read that in the brain surgery contract too, but it must have been in the small print because my family clearly has not read it. :-\
Ah, the first shower.....nothing like it! I got to take mine while still in the hospital - the nurse was supposed to stay in the bathroom with me just in case - I asked her to just get me a shower bench to sit on and go ahead and take care of other patients because I wasn't going to be getting out of the shower any time soon. Good thing they have a big hot water heater at the hospital!
Lori
-
Doesn't it say somewhere that if you've had brain surgery, you never have to clean a kitchen again? ???
I thought I read that in the brain surgery contract too
No, no, no. You're both wrong! The contract says you don't have to clean the entire house ever again!
So get those family members moving! (Yea, don't I wish ::) )
Jan
-
If I could get the family member to move OUT of the house, I probably wouldn't have to clean it so much!
I don't think they have boarding school for 2 year olds.
Lori
-
Lori,
I just can't stop laughing at the idea of boarding school for a two year-old. I remember those days well, and my little one is 20 years old and a big ole six footer. But he was once awfully cute and cuddly. Most important thing I ever did was to have him. And as I reflect, things like scars seem so unimportant. Thanks for that.
M
-
Ah, the shower! You know, I still enjoy the shower every day. I remember laying in the hospital that first miserable day, all morphed up, thinking that I must smell bad ... ;D (I know, that is not what most folks worry about the day after brain surgery...)
Marci, I am seriously glad that you are enjoying the full showering experience now - nothing like it!
Keep healing, my friend!
Debbi
-
I have a funny shower story to tell, sorry Marci for hijacking this thread but this is funny and could only happen to me. I broke my ankle on a Monday of Jan 2005. I was in the hospital with it sprinted and waiting for an open reduction. I was on a list for and each day being bumped by more urgent cases. On the Friday I couldn't stand it anymore and begged for a shower. The nurse wrapped my leg up, wheeled me into the bathroom, helped my undress, set me up in the shower. I had the shower going enjoy the water beating down on my body. Just as I started to shampoo my hair the ortho surgeon popped his head and said "Mrs Sanseverino would you like to participate in a survey?" I asked him why he picked now to see me in my glory and will it mean I'll have the surgery sooner than later. I had my surgery at 7:00 pm that night.
-
Marci:
From a man's point of view and for what it's worth, my surgery incision scar totally healed. During my last (monthly) haircut, my barber mentioned that it was now "pretty much invisible". I'm sure yours will be too, in time. Sorry, no belly scar so I can't comment on that, and probably wouldn't, even if I had one.
The AN surgery contract does exempt the patient from housework but there is no exact time-frame, so, unfortunately, this clause is open to interpretation. I've invoked the AN 'exemption from helping friends move' clause, recently. I use the AN contract law plus my advanced years as my exemption. So far, so good. ;)
Jim
-
Anne Marie,
That's hilarious. I mean, truly hilarious. Worthy of momentary thread-hijacking. ;D
M
-
Anne Marie -
I second Marci's post - hilarious story! :D
Lori -
boarding school for toddlers - another great money-making idea ;)
Jan
-
Hi Marci,
My vestibular rehab doctor gave me some advice about my scar shortly after my surgery. He told me to put Palmer's cocoa butter on it. It's supposed to help with scars. I used it and my scar is not really visible anymore.
I had to wait awhile for my first post-of shower. I had to start out with baths so I didn't get my eye wet. It was so nice to finally be able to take a shower again.
Jean
-
Anne Marie,
Thank you for the post explaining the proper way to expedite ankle surgery in a busy hospital. You minx, you. ;)
Steve
-
Steve,
Is this a hijacking? And if so, is there a ransom demand?
Marci
-
Jim, the moving exemption! I will definitely use that one! My husband has a pick up truck, so we always get asked to help friends move! Ha - not any more!
Ok, since we're talking about funny shower stories, while I was taking my first marathon shower that day in the hospital, I heard a knock on the door. Being SSD now, I couldn't tell if it was a knock on the bathroom door or the room door so I said "yes, come in", thinking it was the room door and that it was just the nurse coming to make sure I hadn't gone down the drain. I hear the bathroom door slowly creak open and a man's voice saying "Ummm...Mrs. Wilson, this is whats-his-name from the Chaplain's office. Would you like to receive communion?". I just said, "well, I'm not exactly wearing my Sunday best right now, do you think you could come back later?".
That poor guy. He probably had to go to confession or something after that!
Lori
-
Marci -
actually, I think Anne Marie started the hijack, not Steve - but I did love his comment ;)
Lori -
your quick wit never fails to amaze me :o I personally would have just been dumbfounded to have a chaplain walking into the room while I was in the shower :-[
Jan
-
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
You guys are so funny. I have a similar shower story but since it doesn't involve a hospital I'll save it for another time. Lori, yours may top Anne Marie's since at least a doctor is prepared to see a naked body. Someone from the chaplain's office is probably still having flashbacks.
M
-
Oh come on, Marci.
Where's your sense of adventure? Go ahead, hijack our hijack of this thread - we all do it!
Tell us the shower story - hospital or not :D
Jan
-
This happened the week before our wedding, we were in Florida with many friends and family having a "Florida wedding reception" before the actual wedding on the east coast. We were staying in a hotel and I was just coming out of the shower but there was so much glare coming in from the patio window that I never saw the poor guy who had just delivered our room service. My not-yet husband yelled at me to get back in the bathroom, which I did, but only after the room service guy got a really good show. For the remainder of the weekend ours was the only room that got room service at any time of the day or night; the rest of the family couldn't figure out why!
;D
-
In keeping with the thread I will mention that at the time I had no scars to worry about.
M ;)
-
glad to see this thread!!! totally happy to hear that my belly scar WILL EVENTUALLY flatten out and yes i will exercise patience. right now it is looks like a long raised red line. As for my head scar, i don't have to exercise patience anymore as it almost invisible and blended in with the rest of my skin. ;D
-
Marci, Ann Marie and Lori I loved your shower stories. I thought I'd add one of my own... On Sunday a mere two days after my surgery the excellent and wonderful Dr. Choe announced my incisions watertight (there were no external sutures, just surgical tape, apparently waterproof at that) and gave me permission not only to shower but also to wash my hair, much to my delight as you can imagine. Just to avoid trouble, whicb turned out to be a huge mistake, I told my nurse, who in turn told the on-call doctor who turned me down flat. Since I'd been planning on going home on Monday it didn't seem like a big deal. When the physical therapist told me the next day that I should stay for PT for the rest of the week, I deciided to give myself permission to take a shower and somehow didn't get caught. Later that day it became evident I wouldn't be going to Rehab for PT that day either so I took yet another shower and washed my hair too. Finally made it to Rehab that night only to be told I was at risk for falling and would not be allowed to take a shower for the foreseeable future (this made me pretty unhappy). I called Dr. Choe who prevailed upon the doctor in Rehab to allow me to shower at will, within reason. I was probably the cleanest patient in that unit. It was the best part of my Rehab experience. Other than that they refused to let me walk without assistance even with a walker or cane, which mostly meant I was in my room for most of the 2 1/2 days I was there since there was almost never anyone who had time for me. Rob came in and walked with me when he could but did not spend as much time at the hospital as I would have liked. With everything going on there and at home he was as worn out as I was. One time he fell asleep in my bed. That really confused the oncoming nurse since I was out of the room when she came in to check on me and found him instead!!!
Always keep them laughing and guessing,
Wendy
-
Hi Chocolatetruffle,
I meant to answer your question about what procedure I had on my own thread but just saw your post and had already been thinking about you. I'm not sure what looked like sutures in the front on my ear in one of my pictures, maybe it was hair. I had translab, but had no external sutures at all -- just surgical tape and a clear bandage over my incision. Now that the tape and bandage have been removed, I finally got to see the incision. Dr. Choe did the extremely neat and great job I knew he would do and never expected or thought he would do anything else. As far as the belly scar goes, Dr. Choe didn't say how long it would take to flatten out, but your belly scar sounds like it looks just like mine and he assured me it would flatten out very nicely.
Wishing you a flat belly scar sooner than later,
Wendy
Marci -- Sorry for the hijack! As you can see, some of us just can't help ourselves!
-
Scars and all......it is so good to laugh. I think its the best medicine for whatever ales you!!
Yeah Steve, Minx is my middle name ::)
Anne Marie
-
Wendy is correct, some of us just can't help ourselves LOL
Great shower story Marci - I knew I could convince you to share it. The things some people will do for quick room service though - I'm shocked ::) :D
Wendy -
I liked your shower story too, but I enjoyed the part about your husband sleeping in your hospital bed the most. I can just imagine the nurse's face when she discovered that Wendy was very masculine-looking :D
Flipping back to the scar topic now, I forgot to say earlier that although some mentioned having their belly scar stitches removed, mine dissolved.
Jan
-
marci, sorry for the hijack
Wendysig, oh?? i had translab but i had sutures at the back of my ear - surgical tape sounds so much easier to remove than sutures!! i was gripping the chair and grinding my teeth as they took the sutures out. :-\ wishing you a flat belly scar too!
-
No problem, apparently hijacking is encouraged around here! Re, the scar, I'm just relieved to know I won't always look like Kevin Costner in Waterworld. :D
Marci
-
Doesn't anyone want to laugh at my Waterworld joke? Anyone? Or am I the only to see that particular movie?
M
-
Sorry Marci - I didn't see it! But I'm sure if I had, I'd be hysterically laughing at your joke right now! :D If it doesn't have cartoon characters or Muppets in it, I probably haven't seen it. :-\
You know, being Kevin Costner can't be that bad - I'm sure he's got lots of money!
Lori
-
Ok, well in the movie, everything (all cities, etc) is covered with water and Kevin Costner has gills! He's still pretty cute, but gills? Anyway, don't even bother renting it, but if it ever comes on TV you will laugh when you see him. Until my scar flattens out, that is exactly what I look like! Only not as cute.
M
-
Hi there,
I can take a shower, but still have to be very careful. My doctor still doesn't want me to get my ear wet (that he had to shorten the ear canal when I had the spinal leak). I have to take a ball of cotton and cover it with vaseline, completely covered, then put it in my ear, so it doesn't get wet. Then put vaseline over the outside of the cotton ball. So my showers still aren't real fun yet! (can't dance around, etc) yet. I see him on Wed., so hopefully this won't have to be done this way again.
I found out it's a scab that's above my ear. Hopefully he will let us put ointment on it, so it will heal faster and drop off. I hate it. Drives me crazy. It will definitely feel so much more comfortable to lay on a pillow without that scar sticking up :'(
By the way, I could start a 2 year old military school........but it would be VERY EXPENSIVE~~~~~~~~ ::)
Lacey
-
Lacey -
you mention military school. Would you be willing to take two 12 year-olds? :D
After my BAHA surgery, before the cute pink bandage was removed, I had to hold a plastic cup (the kind you drink out of) over my BAHA site when I showered. It was a little awkward, but I was just thrilled to be able to shampoo ;D
If you get to the point where you are able to put ointment on your incision, remember that Dawn detergent does wonders for cleaning "gunk" out of your hair. I learned this handy, dandy tip from Lori! Works well on bacitracin, polysporin, and neosporin. The things I've learned on this forum ;)
Marci -
I would have commented on your Waterworld comment, but I didn't see the movie so I was clueless as to what Kevin Costner looked like.
Jan
-
Lacey - I think the military school would be great! Do I get a discount if I send you the military? My husband is in the Navy and I'm sure he'd just LOVE to be surrounded by 2 year olds!!! And just think how quiet my house would be with 2 people missing!!
Lori
-
I don't know why I didn't get in on this trhread until now - it didn't pop up on "unread posts" - oh well, better late than never! I was going to say when I 1st read Lori's suggestion about Boarding school that we always joked that we were sending our 2 year old off to MILITARY school! Yes, Lori, I think James would be great Military for the 2 year olds!!
I also, Wendy's story about the nurse being confused at her hubby in her bed made me think of when my mom got Bells Palsey and I was taking her to the Dr.'s - needless to say the Dr. was VERY confused about which woman with the wacky, paralyzed face he was supposed to be examining!!!
K ;D