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Has anyone ever had scar removal surgery?

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Crohn's Disease
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Posted 9/1/2009 4:29 AM (GMT 0)
This isn't something I'm considering just yet, I'm just curious if anybody that has had a resection has ever had a cosmetic or laser surgery to 'remove' the scar? If so, how did it work out, and how much did it cost? My doctor had mentioned this would be a possibility after being well for a while, but it almost seems like it could be a waste of money in the event that you have to have another surgery in the future...
Posted 9/1/2009 5:06 AM (GMT 0)
The surgeon that did my resection is an artist. There is a 3 inch scar under my belly button but you really can't see it. I had to point it out to my new surgeon.

On my last surgery, the surgeon put a 2 inch slit above my belly button and it is really noticable. Since I have about 15 holes and slits from 4 abdominal surgeries, it doesn't bother me. I'm past my bikini days.
Posted 9/1/2009 8:00 AM (GMT 0)
hey daizy... they have gone in 14 times in my midline.. each time they took out the old scar area. but the last few times the scar just got wider and wider . of course i had to regrow the whole mid section three times but i wear it as a badge of honor! being a guy of course we swap scar stories and i always win!
Posted 9/1/2009 1:02 PM (GMT 0)
I think quite honestly that it would be a waste of time. The chances of a repeat surgery increase after the first, so you could get it fixed then need another surgery for your Crohns later. JMHO
Posted 9/1/2009 2:44 PM (GMT 0)
If they removed all of my scars I would just be a navel with toes . I just go on with my life and if people dont want to see them wellllllllll, tooooooooo, badddddd. I dont think I need any more pain just to look better. I'm not vain at all, I'm too busy living to have time for it. Look at Randi's site. If they take anymore out of his middle his back will be his front, Butttt , hes a really great guy on the inside, and thats all I need to see...
Posted 9/1/2009 2:58 PM (GMT 0)
I have to honestly say that I'm with you, craizy_daisy. I've never had to have a resection myself, but I have had surgery for other issues (hyperhidrosis, breast lump) and while I'm not ashamed of either of those conditions, I still don't enjoy the unsightly scars that resulted. I am not sure how expensive scar removal is, but I hope it's not excessive. I know insurance won't cover any of it, as it's a cosmetic procedure, but hopefully it's a managable expense.

I would give scar creams a shot, though. They have worked on some of my surgery scars. And you could probably check with a dermatologist for scar removal costs. Good luck with whatever you decide.
Posted 9/1/2009 6:21 PM (GMT 0)

Hey Ashley,

I'm not sure how well your surgeon is in the "cosmetic" area of surgery, but I know mine attempts to make the scars almost non-existent.  When I go in to get my resection + fistula surgery in November he said  hes going to make sure the scar is minimal.  I have however looked into scar removal/tummy tucks to get rid of the scar right above my bellybutton.  Ive spoken to a couple surgeons about a tummy tuck to move down the scar I have now which is exactly where my fistula is and place my bellybutton there, if that makes sense to you.  But scar surgery removal is completely do-able, Im really not sure about prices though.

Posted 9/1/2009 8:21 PM (GMT 0)
I saw my surgeon yesterday, and he was telling me how he makes the cuts so that you won't even notice them when they heal. I told him I didn't really care about scars. Like you guys, I kind of seem that as a badge of honor. But at least I have a skilled surgeon. I know someone whose first surgeon told her she would still be able to wear a bikini, and did a great job of making a minimal scar. But she said her second surgery/surgeon made it look like someone went at her with a chainsaw.

The 2 bigger slits from my gallbladder surgery are quite visible, but the two little ones barely show. The only thing I don't like about them is that they feel stiff and unstretchable when I reach high up for something.
Posted 9/1/2009 8:25 PM (GMT 0)
comtemplating a 2 piece bathing suit in alaska? lol. ..I was slated for butt reconstruction (rectum removed and looks like a grenade went off there) ..havnt done it yet, but the theory was to utilize thigh tissue. My mid body scar is 10 inches (twice over, staples then glue) have illeostomy now so i dont usually remove my shirt in public as I hafta hike my suit above my stoma but its doable so I dont really have issue with scar as muchthe top of bag exposed, so havnt considered the front.
Posted 9/1/2009 11:15 PM (GMT 0)
yea, i really don't wear bikinis here in alaska...ever! but i do love vacationing in hawaii!

i really liked your stories/advice tsitodawg. i think i'll go along with something about a bear attack (because honestly it's not that far of a stretch, a bear pushed a girl off a bike just a couple weeks ago) or maybe something about pulling in a 200# halibut and getting a gaff hook to the gut...or deer hunting and i missed and hit it in the a$s and it came at me...haha. this could be fun ;)

i don't really think i would ever be able to afford cosmetic surgery anyways, but i am very self-conscious about my scars, especially since they sort of deformed my lower abdomen. but i think maybe once my abdominal fistula is healed and my scars have time to fade i'll be able to get over it....i was talking about it to somebody earlier today and they basically said, 'hey, if you didn't have those scars, you could be dead, right?" and i think i like looking at it like that.

thanks for the replies everybody.
Posted 9/2/2009 2:50 AM (GMT 0)
you know what I did instead of scar removal surgery? I got a tattoo of a semi colon since I don't have a colon anymore. I wear swim skirt with a bikini top to hide my ostomy but I love seeing my tattoo next to my scar! I also joke around saying that my surgeons gave me a permanent 3-pack!
Posted 9/2/2009 3:19 AM (GMT 0)
hey sniper , your navel is really just your first scar! from your first operation. then there s the ole circumcision scar if your so inclined.. so heck by the time you left the hospital, you were 2 up already.. unless you wer born in the bayou to a gator!

Daizy, try getting pregnant and stretch that deformed area back out? might work...:0)
Posted 9/2/2009 3:43 AM (GMT 0)
Well now, let's see. I had my resection in 1978. open abdomen, from 2" above the navel to maybe an inch above the pubic bone, and it detours around the navel. That resection granted me a 20 year remission. Pentasa and Imuran have pretty much kept me in remission or at least symptomatic remission since the Crohn's return in 1998.

Still, I do have a high grade partial obstruction at the old resection site, and nobody told my ovary that it wasn't supposed to develop a simple cyst after menopause so I have this 7+cm simple cyst on one ovary that the surgeons would like to take out. Since I'm having no symptoms from the cyst and the Crohn's has pretty much been behaving ....

I figure when and if the inevitable happens they can take the ovaries, the partial obstruction, do a tummy tuck and instead of letting a student close I intend to insist on the best seamstress they have. Do you think they'll believe me that I make my living modeling bikinis and therefore they HAVE to do a super superb job on the incision? Maybe if I tell them I'm a porn queen and NEED a good looking abdomen? I mean I'm ONLY 67 years old ....

Posted 9/2/2009 4:14 AM (GMT 0)
CrohnieToo, if you can tell your surgeon you are a **** queen with a straight face, Do IT! haha...

Marlowe, if I'm ever ballsy enough to get a tattoo, I would love for it to be something like yours that made me laugh every time I saw it :)

randynoguts, Getting preggo would probably just triple the size of the scar?! Might defeat the purpose...but, maybe someday I'll test your theory...
Posted 9/2/2009 10:28 PM (GMT 0)
I know the feeling walking on the beach after my first lot of scars I never had so many people looking at my tummy in my bikini.... mow a few years later I now have a few scars that look like I have been stabbed. So I just pretend I am as tough as nails and not to be messed with. However these are my survival scars from CD so I've decided to be proud of them. All of us have been through so much and so far survived ! And of course the risks of more surgery is always there so I just decided to love them.......but not the disease of course.
Posted 10/4/2017 2:53 PM (GMT 0)
For my scar my surgeon recommended Dermelastic serum I get it after abdominal surgery, but I wasn't sure it was worth the money. I have only been using it once a day for about 2 months. The jar is still at least half full and the scar color is dramatically better! (The jar recommend use 2-3x a day). It really is amazing how much the scar has changed!
I'm impressed!
Posted 10/6/2017 12:37 AM (GMT 0)
since this old post came back up I would like to know if craizy_daizy is still around if my suggestion ever worked! ;O)
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