Scars

I had a very interesting chat with the plastic surgeon yesterday about scarring. She was called in by the EP to clean up my pocket and make it more comfortable, but since she was there she did the closing also.

She said it was closed up enough now (2 wks post op) that I can start putting lotion or whatever on it. I asked her what she recommended, she said "whatever you want!" She said keeping it moist- with whatever we choose to use- will make it feel better as it heals but will not make a big difference in how it looks in the long run. Her words... "I can sell you something expensive but it will heal how it will heal regardless so don't waste your money."

I'm not sure I agree with her, but she's got the degree so who knows. I've used vitamin E religiously after my last few replacements and my scar is usually next to invisible within 6 months, so I am using it again. If nothing else, it feels good on it because I'm at that annoying itchy stage now. The geek part of me wants to use the ointment on half and something else on the other half and run an experiment to see if she's right :o)

She did mention that Band Aid brand scar healing strips have had excellent reviews.
http://www.medshopexpress.com/606433.html

11 Comments

How about that :-)

by pacergirl - 2010-02-09 08:02:51

I'm glad to know you and your scar is doing so well. It does take time to heal, but you seem to be handling it very well. Your new doc seems like a keeper. I hope you continue to heal well.
Scars are something else we all have in common that's for sure and any new treatments or ointments are always an interest to most of us.
Take care and thanks for sharing,
Pacergirl

healing

by Tracey_E - 2010-02-09 09:02:34

Patch, I've heard of that stuff! It has a lot of other applications. It's great for weight loss and ED also.

Susie, it's red and kinda ugly now but I'm really not worried about it. I don't really care if it shows because I consider it a badge of honor, but it's in a place that it won't show unless I wear something strapless. Which I soooo am not doing, lol. Knock on wood, but scarring has never been an issue with me, I guess it's one of the advantages of that enviable pasty-white-girl complexion. I may never tan and I look like a ghost half the year, but I rarely scar.

Half and Half

by ElectricFrank - 2010-02-10 02:02:01

How about putting the Vit-E on half like you said, and then wear a pair of glasses with one eye covered. That way you could do a "Double Blind Study". LOL

Glad it is healing up well.

This last weekend I hiked several miles up a canyon with my son and daughter. I never thought about it until we returned, that I had been carrying a small backpack with the strap right over the pacer. No problem then or since. Maybe at my age I'm just numb!!!

frank

Incision - Scar

by richan - 2010-02-10 02:02:07

Hi TraceyE,
I am assuming that this current scar is the result of replacing your PM. Was/is your incision in exactly the same place - cut right on the original scar???
I had my PM replaced back in late January 2010 and I am waiting to see what this scar will look like. My old scar didn't totally disappear. However, the "bump" of the underlying PM would draw attention to the area - then the scar would be obvious.
Anyhow, I was told that if they can keep the "same" scar you won't end up with a series of "stripes" under your clavicle - the thinking being that one scar is less obvious.
Hope that your healing goes well,

Richan

Richan

by Tracey_E - 2010-02-10 02:02:56

My placement is odd! It's behind the breast, put in from the side. This is my 4th replacement and yes, the incisions have all been cut on the original scar. It's always been flat and white again 6 or 8 mos later. It's been numb since the second replacement, I don't even feel it this time. I also got a new lead this time so I have a new incision near my shoulder where they ran the lead, that's the one I was speaking of. It didn't fit where they put the original leads so they used another vein.

Old Lead

by richan - 2010-02-10 04:02:18

Hi TraceyE,
Yeah, there is something about the innervation around scars. The skin around mine is numb - more so that the first time.
So, what about the old lead? What, if anything, did they tell you about it?

Richan

lead

by Tracey_E - 2010-02-10 05:02:52

One of my original leads was impeded, the insulation ruptured. It was functioning but they had to crank the juice way up to get the signal through so it killed the battery quickly. It's been that way for years now, I knew about it 6 or 7 years ago. I chose not to replace it the first time, I figure I've got a lot of years of pacing ahead of me so I wanted to hold off adding more wires in there as long as I could. This last battery only lasted 3 yrs and the lead had gotten worse, so replacing it wasn't optional this time. They capped off the old one and left it in there.

I got the feeling back after the first time, but it stayed numb after the second. It's interesting having the contrast of the two incisions, lol. One itches and aches, I don't even know the other is there.

Lead

by richan - 2010-02-10 06:02:25

Hi TraceyE,
So, it is possible to have too many leads left in the vein. I guess that removal of a lead is risky. I'm not sure that I will live long enough to worry about too many leads.
Just wondering about it.

Peace,
Richan

extra leads

by Tracey_E - 2010-02-10 07:02:31

Having them is not risky, but sometimes more just do not fit or the vein gets stenosis and isn't elastic enough to accommodate more leads. They can usually fit 3 or 4, though. They can extract leads if necessary, or if we run out of room on one side they just move everything to the other side. Extraction is not high risk but when complications happen they are serious. The technology gets better all the time and there are more experienced doctors than a few years ago, so it's becoming more common. Some doctors automatically extract and start fresh when a new lead is needed. I did not want to do that unless it was a last resort, fortunately my dr agreed. I'd rather have extra leads for now and put off the extraction.

another lead question?

by cfritza - 2010-02-11 05:02:02

Hi TraceyE,

The leads going bad and leaving them in or extracting them has always been the most difficult thing for me to deal with. I guess when I heard they don't normally take them out it freaked me out a little ;-). Anyways was wondering how many years it took before you needed that one replaced? I realize everyone is not always the same, but kind of curious of a approx?? Thanks always for your weath of info! Carol

old leads

by Tracey_E - 2010-02-11 06:02:40

I got them in 1993. The original atrial lead is still working just fine. The ventricular lead first showed up impeded about 6 or 7 years ago. About a year ago it got worse and I knew it'd have to be replaced, we waited until the battery went and did it all at the same time. We considered replacing the atrial lead at the same time since we were already in there, but it wouldn't fit so we left the old one alone.

There are some members here still using leads that are 25 yrs old! They last on average about 20 yrs, but there's no way to predict. Leaving an old one in isn't a big deal. It wasn't even until the last few years that extracting even became an option.

Don't lose sleep over your leads! Very few people ever have a problem with them overall when you look at all the millions of pacemakers that are implanted every year.

You know you're wired when...

Your electric tooth brush interferes with your device.

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A properly implanted and adjusted pacemaker will not even be noticeable after you get over the surgery.