Another thread I was reading about scars prompted the following....

Can I ask whereabouts peoples scars are?,

Do they always use the same areas or does everyone/each surgeon vary?

If you have previous scars would they be able to reuse that area to avoid any more?

Interesting question! One is position right in the middle of my stomach between my ribcage, another one about an inch lower on my right side. Two on each side of my bellybutton.

I have a tiny one right in the middle just below my bra line, another little one to the left and below that, a slightly longer one about 3" below that, the main scar (about an inch long) a little more than an inch above my belly button, and another small one on my right ribcage where they put the drain in.

I took pictures of everything, before and after the drain came out, and if I can ever figure out how to get them from my hubby's camera to my computer I'll post them sometime.

I had a Lband before and one of my old scars were able to be used.

I have 2 (1 from lb and one from my revision) right below my sternum, 1 larger incision about 2 inches long (it's where my port was, and were they removed the excised portion of the stomach), and 2 little bitty lap sites on the left side of my abdomen.

Here's a pic of my lapband scars about 6 months after my lapband placement.

I was still fat here so sorry for the grossness. The one incision/lap site on the left did get infected, and was an open wound for about 3 weeks so it scarred darker than my other lap sites.

I now have over 15 scar on my abdomen. I had the revision, then 2 days later the leak repair which required new lap sites, and on 2 separate occasions I had to have drains placed in my abdomen, and then on February 4,2010 I had my gallbladder removed with 4 new incisions.

As you can see I'm about 2 shades darker than pastey white, most of my scars are all faded, and getting smaller every month. Most of the lap and drain sites just look like little pink dots. I did have the 2 scars under my sternum kind of keloid (raise) a bit, but my dermatologist said she could fix them if they became bothersome.

I had 5 scars from my gallbladder removal in November. They were not able to use any of those scar sites. I have five scars. One below my bra line in the center. One a little to the right and below it, another to the left and further down. I have one scar on each side of my bellybutton. The one on the left is about an inch wide, the one on the right is two inches and is where they must have crammed the tubes in because that one is very sore. That area inside feels a lot more pain as well. It's tough with the waistline incisions because my fat rolls over them when I'm sitting so they don't get the same amount of breathing space. TMI? Sorry.

I m almost 3 months out , my scar is not bulging but its a terrible purplish hue.

Will it ever fade ??

I have a 12 inch scar from gallbladder surgery (before it was done laproscopically) and my doc actually used that scar for the largest incision for my VSG. Not concerned at all about the VSG scars cuz of the gallbladder and 8 inch appendix scar (also done before it was done laproscopically). There are creams that will help.

My son just had cysts removed from between his eyes and the doc recommended miderma(sp) and said that really helps. He also said you should NOT expose the scars to the sun without huge spf sunscreen for at least a year because the sun will actually make the scars darker.

Thanks everyone.....

I was still fat here so sorry for the grossness.

Please don't apologise Tiff..... we're all here for the same reason in the end so I see no need... and anyway, you look fab now, so it was well worth it!

I m almost 3 months out , my scar is not bulging but its a terrible purplish hue.

Will it ever fade ??

It will fade, but keep it out of the sun this year. If it gets enough sun to darken it while it's healing, it could stay discolored permanently.

A good tip for healing scars and sun (if you can't avoid it, is to use one of those sunblocks for lips... like a lipstick, so easy to apply and keep the sun away for sure.

Does the sun find the scars through a bathing suit?? Ok, I'm a nerd! :wink0:

Does the sun find the scars through a bathing suit?? Ok, I'm a nerd!

If in doubt then cover up with sun block anyway.... I think it can still get thru, as you often see those sunblock costumes they put kids in on the beach as a total cover up.

Good suggestion Sparkle. Thanks!