Wound Scarring

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Liviac2u

So, I've noticed that a lot of people have decent scarring going down their stomach from their colonoscopies. But those people who have the nicer scarring had staples or stitches, which upsets me a bit because my surgeon did not stitch me or staple me, but decided to do a wound vac instead to wet-to-dry dressing, but I'm terrified that my scar is going to be ugly. I already see that my belly button is not going to be directly in the center of my body anymore and that is very alarming to me. I'm not a happy camper at all. Was wondering if anyone else had a wound vac-only healing process and would love it if you could share a pic to reassure me that it will turn out okay.

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iMacG5

Sorry Livia.  I did not have a wound vac.  I don't even know what wet and/or dry dressing means.  I think my belly button is reasonably centered.  It's definitely still on the front of me.  I'm not sure if my scar is ugly, not that bad or downright pretty.  I don't know how to judge the aesthetic quality of scars.  I don't have any pictures.  What I did have was a couple cancers, a couple resections, strictures, two years in the bathroom, a loop colostomy, an end colostomy, a couple pneumonias, shingles and finally, that damn scar. Since I'm a 77 year old guy, I think my perception of the relevance of a scar on my belly is different from yours.  Maybe I'm really screwed up but somehow I feel fortunate to be alive without pain and able to do just about everything I did before the big C.  I guess if my belly button ended up on my forehead I might be upset.

I'll bet you're way prettier than you give yourself credit for.

Respectfully,

Mike

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minimoo

I had a VAC dressing as the wound opened up. It's still not fully healed, but I know what you mean. I was told it will be a funny-looking scar after it's healed. Sorry, maybe you can get some other surgery to sort that out, but I don't worry about that. I don't show off my belly anyway, so it's not a big deal having a weird scar as long as it's healed up, I'll be happy.

NHMike

I have a horizontal scar with staples and four other laparoscopic holes. The holes had one staple in them and those were removed, and the skin is closing up on them. The big scar looks like a long line with railroad ties going perpendicular to the scar. I have no idea how it will look in the end, but it's not an area that folks other than my wife see, so the appearance doesn't really matter that much to me.

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