Question:
what do the scars look like
— tracey71 (posted on September 8, 2002)
September 8, 2002
open or laparascopic?
I have laparoscopic, and they are almost invisible once healed.
— Darlene P.
September 8, 2002
I had open, and I have progressive pictures if you want them.
— Paula Prichard
September 8, 2002
Scars apperance vary from one person to the next. Genetics, age and
surgeons skills all come into play here, among other things. My scar is
fat, it puckers and is very pink. It is also somewhat raised and hard
feeling. It goes from just below my breast bone to just above my naval. In
fact, it looks like I have a big, fat earth worm laying on my stomach. I
had my WLS 11/05/01. In May of this year I had an abdominal hysterectomy.
That scar goes from just below my naval to just above my pubic hair line
and is thin, flat and barely pink and feels soft. Both scars have little
scars running along either side of them that were caused by the staples.
In time, I am sure both scars will continue to fade. Some people get scars
that overgrow the incision site and I believe they are called keloid scars.
I am sure you will get a response from someone who knows more about that
as I have I seen this topic discussed here and on the message board before.
My sacrs don't really bother me, although I do wish my WLS scar looked as
good as my hysterectomy scar does. But, no one sees them them but me and
my doctors, so what the hey!
— Susan M.
September 8, 2002
I had a LAP and at first each looked like almost a one inch line, then
progressed to look like mosquito bites. Now 10 mo. post-op, they are less
than a half inch and can barely see them. One is more noticeable because
it did keloid slightly. Looks like a little inch worm, but shorter. I
figure that they will fade even more with time. Small, small price to pay
for such a wonderful gift!!
— Cheri M.
September 8, 2002
I had open RNY on 7/26/2002 and my incision goes from just below my ribcage
to just above my belly button. Right now it is a red line but should go
away eventually.
— Lawrence R.
September 8, 2002
I have pictures in my photo galery just click on my profile and go to the
link for the galery and u can view them but everyone is different depends
on the surgeon.
— Deanna Wise
September 8, 2002
No matter what size your incision is, you can minimize the pinkness and
size with a couple of things. You can put Neosporin on the incision while
it is healing and it will heal a lot quicker leaving a smaller scar. Then
after it has just about healed, you can begin putting Vitamin E Oil on the
scar. This will minimize it being all pink and puffy. I have had a friend
who has a scar from her lower back to her neck and it looks really good
because she has done this. It doesn't bother me to have a scar, but if I
can do something to make it just a little less noticable, I will! I am 2
weeks post-op.
— sammygirlwpc
September 8, 2002
I had the lap DS about three months ago. I have five incisions scattered on
my upper abdomen. The two largest started out as 2/3" each, but have
shrunk to 1/2" as I've lost weight. Right after surgery, they were
very fine, red lines, but are fading to pink now. One other scar is hidden
deep inside my belly button where I can't see it anymore. The fourth scar
is 1/4" long. It's the tiniest one, and I have to look closely even to
find it now. The last scar is where the JP drain was. It's also about
1/4", but round instead of straight. I am very pleased with the
incisions... in a few months, I think they won't even be noticeable. I had
planned to use Neosporin to help with the healing, but my surgeon told me
not to. He said they would heal better if they were kept completely dry.
— Tally
September 8, 2002
I am three weeks post op from my open RNY. My scar goes from just below my
bosom to my navel and looks like it was a line drawn with a medium tip red
magic marker. Most of the stitches are on the inside so in time, they tell
me it will fade to a tiny line. I personally don't care if it stays the
way it is...anything is going to look better under my clothes & out of
sight, than my 200 plus lbs of fat that I could never hide from anyone.
Good Luck. Carol
— Carol H.
September 8, 2002
I had open RNY surgery 7/23/02 and my scar is only 3 1/2 inches long! I
have pictures of it at: http://shawnielee.tripod.com
— Shawnie S.
September 8, 2002
Everyone said mine would heal in time and look better. Well I'm 16 months
post op and still waiting. ;)
— Danmark
September 9, 2002
I had a LAP RNY on 8/15 and I have 7 scars scattered around my upper
abdomen. Five of them are about 1 inch long and 2 of them are about 1/2
inch long. The way they're healing, I figure in a year, they'll hardly be
noticeable.
— Cathy S.
September 9, 2002
I asked this same question right before my surgery. I was told that it
would be 6 inches and about 20 staples. I freaked when I woke up because
mine was 12 inches and 56 staples. So, I would ask your doctor. Everyone
varies depending on surgery type and surgeon.
Good Luck~ Candi
PS.. they told me that it will almost invisable by my one year anniversary.
— Candi B.
September 9, 2002
I had an open RnY ... and my scar is barely 5 inches long...
— Lisa C.
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