Surgery Scar

[jjtwhip]

Question.. How long before your scar looks better?  I had surgery 12/13/2008.  My scar looks tons better, but you can definitely still see it!!  When will it fade, so I do not have to constantly hide it with necklaces and turtlenecks?  Thanks!

[Thypatient]

I hope your symptoms get relieved.  What you describe are symptoms I had/have when my calcium levels get low.  If you PTH and calcium levels are climbing you will eventually feel better.  It does take time though, hang in there.

[quincytoo]

I just had my thyroidectomy om Feb 19/08. Is it normal that my throat still feels really tight????  I  am constantly aware of it, like an elastic wrapped around a finger and when I swallow it feels like the elastic band has got much tighter, I think I thought I'd be better by now :(

Also am low calcuim and am taking meds for that...I feel like my mouth is sometimes frozen like going to the dentist......along with the usually tingles...when does that go away??  

[KJ5854]

I had my total thyroidectomy on 2/5/08.  You can definitely still see my scar but I only wore turtlenecks and/or high collared sweatshirts for two or three weeks after surgery.  You can still see my scar.  The puffiness has gone down but it's still red.  Yeah, it's fairly noticeable but I figure I'm not going to alter what I wear because of a scar.  Plus, I hate wearing turtlenecks! :)

A few friends of mine who have had this surgey say it takes about a year for it to fade to where it's hardly noticeable.

[MJ13]

I used Mederma on my TT scar and it really helped it to fade to were it looks just like a neck wrinkle in less than a year.

[Thypatient]

Wow!  That's quite the experience.  It sounds like it was a frightening one.  Good thing you went with your gut and called that dermo.  You definitely deserve that triple smile.

The actress is the main star (I think), Catherine Bell.  Can't remember where I originally saw that but I just searched and she a TT for cancer.  Other than this, she also appears to have a rather colorful life and faith.

[ChitChatNine]

Which person is it .. what does she look like .. I happen upon the show sometimes but will look now !

C~

[ChitChatNine]

Apparently I had a cyst above the incisional area that nobody (inc. me) knew about and during surgery it ruptured and became infected and then it started to grow and grow and grow and became angrier and hurt and red and infected and then I rejected the stitches so they called them stitch abscesses but after I had the lump (1cm big when removed) removed it came back as an "infectious granuloma" which means scar tissue that they said was formed by an infected cyst that ruptured and the scar tissue I guess grew and grew to protect the surrounding area ... so that is the incision about 1/4" above my thyroid line ....... my ENT/surgeon was going to "drain" the thing and stopped right before the procedure telling me he changed his mind bcz he thought it was solid and not liquid .... he said after 900+ thyroid surgeries never saw anything like this ...... he said to take antibioitc another 2 weeks and come back .. well, I walked out his door and called my dermatologist who knows me well bcz of moles and he said come over NOW and scheduled me to come back 48hrs later to have it surgically removed and did a cosmetic flap procedure like facelift.  

OH BTW, how can I forget the best part (well, not really) since the day after surgery I kept saying it felt really tight when I swallowed and told normal bcz it is normal but I kept saying no this is different and not normal and turns out this thing was pressing inside on my esophagus!!!! But it is gone and NOT CANCER so the rest is history and I get another scar for my courage they tell me on the board . I wear a triple smile as in :::))) vs. those on the board who wear a double one LOL ::))  .. thyroid surgery + cancer.

C~

[Thypatient]

Ladies:  Those photos of your scars look great!

Cheryl - Do they know how yours got infected?

[utahmomma]

My skin is "fish-belly white" and it took almost a year for it to settle down and the redness to go away - right when I had to have it cut open again and starting the cycle all over.   Just like Cheryl, I have a picture posted on my site and the picture is about 4 years post cancer diagnosis (which would be about 3 years past the final surgery).

[Thypatient]

After a year and half my scar has settled down and some redness has faded.  It's a lot less noticable but it still shows.

I was just wondering about this very thing earlier today.  I was flipping through the TV and came across the show 'Jag.'  I never saw it before and knew nothing of the actress until I had this thyroid experience.  I guess she had her thyroid either operated on or removed due to cancer.  I don't know how long it had been but I could definitely see the scar there on her neck.  Oh well, it looked okay.  She's pretty either way.  It didn't detract from her looks so maybe that's how it is for the rest of us.  Let's hope.

[ChitChatNine]

Mine was so sensitive even to turtlenecks and necklaces for quite some time so you are doing GREAT so early on!!!!

Ifyou go to my profile and click on "photos" I have a before and after shot and keep in mind mine had gotten infected with an abscess so didn't heal even as nicely as yours will!

Takes about a year to be faded to nothing for the most part with most people!

Cheryl