Calling UCLAbelle -- suggestions for old surgery scars?

[Sabine]

Hey UCLAbelle, you posted in Delster''s scar thread that you had experience with surgery scars. I had thyroid surgery last summer, and the scar on my neck is still pretty noticeable. I''ve been putting cocoa butter lotion on it daily pretty much since it healed, and I also tried a tube of Moderma, but they don''t really seem to be helping. Any suggestions?

 

[UCLABelle]

Hey Sabine!

I am not an expert, but have many scars on my chest and used different treatments for each one. The best is to start early (before your surgery) in order to ask for Dermabond sealant over the sutures (if possible, many good surgeons will do this).

However, once you have the scar (without the above measure), and even if it has been a year or so (the tissue/skin takes a very long time to fully heal, or at least that is what I was told), use a silicone strip (you can buy them mostly online). This REALLY helped me at least. A family friend had thyroid surgery, and used these strips as well and you can barely notice...TRY TRY TRY any type of silicone strips...

Most lotions I have found to be ineffective....

Finally, my 2nd secret weapon is (no judgment please!) is to tan a bit for a while. You want pigment to develop to reduce the discoloration...and therefore decrease the visibility! I do "brush up" appointments before an important party where I have a low cut dress, or beach trip.

 

[Sabine]

Thanks! I will definitely be looking for some of the silicone strips. I''m a little nervous about the tanning, because one thing a friend of mine who also had thyroid surgery told me was that when she was out in the sun right after her incision healed, it discolored and stayed permanently darker than the rest of her skin. I actually work part time at a pool over the summer, so last summer I kept a bandanna around my neck the whole time, but I have been toying with the idea of leaving my neck bare this year. Hopefully tanning will work for me as well as it does for you!

 

[UCLABelle]

Oh, yes, I meant I started to tan about 6-8 months after.....

 

[neatfreak]

The silicone work wonders especially for raised scars! But you need to use them consistently.

 

[star sparkle]

Does the silicone stuff work for scars that have been around for quite awhile? I''ve had this really large scar on my ankle for about 18 years (broke it when I was little). I''m not looking to get rid of it because it doesn''t bother me or anything, I''m just curious. UCLABelle mentioned something for older scars that are about a year old, but what about scars that are 18 years old?

 

[UCLABelle]

StarSparkle- I have a 21 year old scar (my first), and did try the silicone remedy (but just for a month) and could barely notice a difference. I think it works best on scars that are probably at most a few years old....It did work on one of mine that was 4 years old though...

 

[star sparkle]

Date: 4/28/2008 11:30:27 AM
Author: UCLABelle
StarSparkle- I have a 21 year old scar (my first), and did try the silicone remedy (but just for a month) and could barely notice a difference. I think it works best on scars that are probably at most a few years old....It did work on one of mine that was 4 years old though...

Thanks! That''s exactly what I was wondering.