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[Thinker]

Originally Posted by theoddz

No, Koop, I didn't use Arnica. Dr. V recommended that I use Nivea Cream (the one in the jar, not the tube) after my surgery, so that's what I did. He said that the other stuff was just "expensive" and it didn't do anything that the Nivea cream wouldn't do for me. I remembered that my sister used Nivea cream on my nephew when he was a baby (he's 21 now, and coming to visit me in July!!! ), so that was good enough for me.

I think that the reason for the drains has to do with how much tissue is removed. Like it was pointed out in Chaz's documentary, the purpose of the drains is to siphon off any accumulated fluid that the body generates to try to replace the excised breast tissue. Wearing the binder post-op, as directed, really helps with that, too. I didn't have my drains in for more than an day, either. It all went pretty quick, I think.

~Theo~

Arnica is for minimizing/reducing bleeding and bruising, not for treating scars. I'm assuming that is what you used the Nivea for??? Let me know if I'm reading that wrong, Theo.

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If your surgery poses the potential for a large loss of blood or you will undergo intravenous (IV) therapy, take Arnica montana. It reduces bleeding during surgery, prevents blood from pooling under your skin, and minimizes the surgical shock that can cause cardiovascular problems.

It was this type of information and that it would minimize bruising that I started Arnica about 10 days prior to surgery and then continued on it for another 3 or 4 days.

As for the scars... I can't remember what I used to treat them. Your surgeon, like Theo's, will obviously have some that he/she recommends.