[DapperButch]

Ok, so it has been 9 weeks since my surgery.

Things continue to go well. I changed from Scar Away strips to using the Scar Away gel. The strips were cumbersome and with some research (with Kelt's assistance), it was determined that the strips and gel had the same outcomes.

I have read good stuff about Bio Oil, so I use some of that, too. Massage is very good for scars.

So, my routine is to apply Scar Away in the morning after my shower. When I get home from work, I rub in the Bio Oil. Before bed, I apply Scar Away again. I like to always have the incision line "moist", as that is part of what is supposed to heal the scars.

I am pretty certain that the scars are less red. However, I have not been consistent with taking weekly pics with the same lighting, so it is hard to say from pictures. Subjectively, I believe they have. They probably did not show any significant change until 6 weeks of use. You are supposed to only use this stuff for 3 months, but I am guessing I will be using it for a year. Based on this brief period of use, I would say that it will cost me about $35-40 per month for scar treatments, if I continue with the same level of diligence. I believe that this investment will be worth it.

I can also say that my scars are pretty much completely flat. I would say that 7/8 of the incisions/scars are flat. That is pretty significant, and would be due to the silicone gel, as well. I believe my using the gel as soon as possible after surgery kept the scars from becoming as raised as they would have become without treatment (not to say that they weren't raised when I started the treatment, however).

I have been pleased so far that my scars have not stretched. I still do not lift my arms up completely above my head. I feel a pulling if I do this. I hope that I am not just delaying stretching of scars, but rather assisting them in healing to the point where they will not stretch once I use my arms more. I am also not strength training for the same reason (even though I want nothing more than to build up my pecs!).

The sides where the drains were has settled down a great deal. However, there is still a small area of skin that is shaped like a little teepee on either side. This is not a dog ear. With tubes coming straight out from your sides, only to be flattened with a very tight ace bandage for 6 days, results in pulling/lifting of that skin. I am hopeful that it will eventually become completely flat. My motivation for using the Bio Oil is mainly to massage this area.

The nipples have healed nicely with no difficulties. There is no sexual feeling to them of course, since they are free grafts (this was expected).

I did have one "spit suture" along the incision line. This is where the body pushes out one of the stitches. You just have to wait for it to fill in from the inside (skin growing). It has been a month for me and is finally filling in. I am very glad that I only had one, of these. Even though there are hundreds of stitches, I was concerned about how slow it was to "fill in", plus the hole itself was getting a bit larger. Additionally, the incision line that spit suture was on, was consequently wider than the rest of the incision line. More "spitting sutures", would have meant more widening.

I think that is all. I hope this information is useful to future "recoverers"!