Improving Scarring

I had my third pacemaker implant surgery about a week ago. The first was when I was 2, again at and twelve and then now at 22. 

The past ten years I have worked very hard at healing my scar and not being affected by it. I got to a point where it didn’t bother or I hinder me in anyway, sometimes I even forgot it was there until someone asked me about it. But now I have a new scar and it’s bringing me back to how I felt at 13. My new pacemaker is also bigger and has a lumpy look under my skin where the last one wasn’t noticeable. 

 

Does anyone have any advice for helping to lighten and heal scars? Also with the lumpiness and tenderness around the implant. I know that I will have to live with the scars for the rest of my life but I’d still like to improve the appearance of them as best as I can. My mom keeps telling me that they shouldn’t bother me because I’m alive and get to continue living but I feel like it’s normal right after a surgery to feel emotional about what was done to your body. 

2 Comments

scars

by Tracey_E - 2019-01-24 15:40:04

Of course everything is dredged up just after a surgery! Our defenses are down and things that never normally bother us suddenly seem huge. Cut yourself some slack. 

How it feels and looks now is not how it will look and feel in a few weeks.

I once asked a plastic surgeon about scars. She said she could sell me something fancy and expensive but really, the important thing is keep it out of the sun for the first year and well moisturized. She said it doesn't matter what we use as long as it's natural. I use vitamin e ointment but cocoa butter, coconut oil, aloe are all good choices. 

I saw a shirt once "scars are tattooes with a better story."  We all get scars in life. Very few people have the nerve to ask about mine but I don't let it bother me when they do. If we act matter of fact about it, they follow our lead so answer with a smile and turn the conversation to something else.

Shea butter

by El Gordo - 2019-01-24 22:38:16

I used shea butter on my hand for several months after surgery and it softened the scars nicely. 

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The experience of having a couple of lengths of wire fed into your heart muscle and an electronic 'box' tucked under the skin is not an insignificant event, but you will survive.